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Latest television & radio news, comment, reviews and analysis from the Guardianen-gbGuardian News and Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved. 2015Tue, 31 Mar 2015 23:05:04 GMT2015-03-31T23:05:04Zen-gbGuardian News and Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved. 2015The Guardianhttp://assets.guim.co.uk/images/guardian-logo-rss.c45beb1bafa34b347ac333af2e6fe23f.pnghttp://www.theguardian.com
Moone Boy, The Royals, Coalition, and Inside No9: TV review – videohttp://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/video/2015/mar/31/moone-boy-royals-coalition-inside-no9-tv-review-video
This week, telly addict Andrew Collins bows and scrapes before The Royals on entertainment channel E!; enjoys the shirt-sleeved subterfuge of political drama Coalition on C4; braves the "non-debate" between David Cameron, Ed Miliband and Paxo on C4 and Sky News; hops aboard the latest claustrophobic playlet from Shearsmith and Pemberton's dark anthology Inside No9 on BBC2; and celebrates Sir Terry Wogan swearing on Sky 1's Moone Boy <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/video/2015/mar/31/moone-boy-royals-coalition-inside-no9-tv-review-video">Continue reading...</a>Television & radioTue, 31 Mar 2015 07:39:05 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/video/2015/mar/31/moone-boy-royals-coalition-inside-no9-tv-review-videoAndrew Collins and Mona Mahmood2015-03-31T07:39:05ZBetter Call Saul recap: season one, episode nine – Pimentohttp://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/tvandradioblog/2015/mar/31/better-call-saul-recap-season-one-episode-nine-pimento
<p>We find out who has really been sabotaging Jimmy’s career as Better Call Saul heads towards its season finale</p><p><em>Spoiler warning: this recap discusses the ninth episode of </em><a href="http://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/better-call-saul"><em>Better Call Saul</em></a><em> on AMC/Netflix.</em><br /></p><p><em><a href="http://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/tvandradioblog/2015/mar/24/better-call-saul-recap-season-one-episode-eight-rico">Read our episode eight recap</a>.</em></p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/tvandradioblog/2015/mar/31/better-call-saul-recap-season-one-episode-nine-pimento">Continue reading...</a>Better Call SaulCultureTelevisionTelevision & radioUS televisionTue, 31 Mar 2015 09:24:03 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/tvandradioblog/2015/mar/31/better-call-saul-recap-season-one-episode-nine-pimentoRichard Vine2015-03-31T09:24:03ZThe Walking Dead recap: a season finale that had everythinghttp://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2015/mar/30/the-walking-dead-season-five-episode-16-conquer-recap
<p>In bravura style, this shocking season finale showed Rick confronting the people of Alexandria, and perfectly set up a very creepy season six</p><p><em>Spoiler alert: this blog is published after The Walking Dead airs on AMC in the US on Sundays. Do not read on unless you have watched season five, episode 16 (which airs in the UK on Fox on Mondays)</em></p><p>Of all the shows on television, none does a season finale quite like The Walking Dead, and Sunday night’s was no disappointment. Much like one of <a draggable="true" href="http://www.ew.com/article/2013/05/17/saturday-night-live-stefon-clubs-everything">Stefon’s nightclubs on Saturday Night Live</a>, the episode had everything: a zombie’s brain exploding inside its head, a guy fighting off weirdos with a stick like <a draggable="true" href="http://www.nick.com/videos/clip/tmnt-launch-character-profile-meet-donatello-9-29-promo-NHD14966-01.html">Donatello from the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles</a>, Carole picking on someone twice her size and demanding her dish back, a throat-slashing Sasha lying down in an open grave, and a disco ball hooked up in the back of a big rig. What more could you possibly ask for? How about the season finale perfectly setting up the challenge for the next season? Check.</p><p>The best part of the finale was near the end, where the action was cutting between four life-or-death confrontations. Rick was fighting off the three zombies that had been let into Alexandria; Sasha was fending off Gabriel; Glenn was beating the snot out of Nicholas; and Carol, Michonne, and the rest of the group were defending Rick from Deanna.</p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2015/mar/30/the-walking-dead-season-five-episode-16-conquer-recap">Continue reading...</a>The Walking DeadUS televisionDramaTelevisionCultureTelevision & radioZombiesMon, 30 Mar 2015 13:19:35 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2015/mar/30/the-walking-dead-season-five-episode-16-conquer-recapBrian Moylan2015-03-30T13:19:35ZTop Gear tour featuring Jeremy Clarkson to go ahead without show's brandinghttp://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2015/mar/31/top-gear-tour-featuring-jeremy-clarkson-to-go-ahead-without-shows-branding
<p>Worldwide series of live events previously known as Top Gear Live will be renamed Clarkson, Hammond and May Live</p><p>A series of live events featuring the sacked Top Gear presenter Jeremy Clarkson will go ahead without the show’s branding, the BBC announced on Tuesday.</p><p>The worldwide tour, previously known as Top Gear Live and fronted by Clarkson alongside co-presenters Richard Hammond and James May, will be renamed Clarkson, Hammond and May Live. The shows have been stripped of Top Gear and BBC branding.</p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2015/mar/31/top-gear-tour-featuring-jeremy-clarkson-to-go-ahead-without-shows-branding">Continue reading...</a>Top GearJeremy ClarksonBBC WorldwideTue, 31 Mar 2015 17:05:27 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2015/mar/31/top-gear-tour-featuring-jeremy-clarkson-to-go-ahead-without-shows-brandingGuardian staff2015-03-31T17:05:27ZThe Ark review – Noah gets Shamelesshttp://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2015/mar/31/the-ark-review-modern-day-manchester
<p>This entertaining retelling of the story of Noah was played pretty straight – maybe it could have done with a new twist</p><p>‘There is violence, arrogance, hatred of those who are different to you, a world run by money-lenders and warmongers, where one man grows fat, yet happily watches whilst another starves, where old men use the bodies of children to feed their desires …”</p><p>Tory Britain today? Could be – and, depending on how things go in May, perhaps the same drastic action will be called for. But we’re actually talking roughly 4,400 years ago: this is the world described by an angel to Noah, here in<strong> The Ark</strong> (BBC1). “And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually ...” That’s from Genesis, updated by Tony Jordan for extra relevance. I think we all know what Noah gotta do – build a big boat, outta gopher wood, 300 cubits long. Filled with family, animals, doves, every creeping thing. I’d have left some of the creepingest things behind, like the Tories.</p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2015/mar/31/the-ark-review-modern-day-manchester">Continue reading...</a>Historical dramaDramaTelevisionTelevision & radioCultureSpainEuropeTravelBarcelonaCataloniaTue, 31 Mar 2015 06:00:09 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2015/mar/31/the-ark-review-modern-day-manchesterSam Wollaston2015-03-31T06:00:09ZCaptain Poldark's heaving bosom reigns supremehttp://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/tvandradioblog/2015/mar/30/captain-poldarks-heaving-bosom-reigns-supreme
<p>What we have learned from this weekend’s TV: Aidan Turner revealed all (although, sadly, not literally) and The Voice continues to trudge on in X Factors shadow<br></p><p>“I have chores.” “Suppose I have other plans for you ...?” Heavens to Betsy. Bring on the storm of pilchards before everyone gets too excited. It’s the Rick Stein Special! Poldark was followed by a live chat with the captain himself (Aidan Turner) on Sunday night. Favourite questions of the #<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/AskPoldark?src=hash">AskPoldark hashtag</a>? “Will there be a Poldark calendar?” “Have you just made pilchards the new aphrodisiac?” “You are fit. How did you get fit?” (Sunday, BBC1)</p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/tvandradioblog/2015/mar/30/captain-poldarks-heaving-bosom-reigns-supreme">Continue reading...</a>TelevisionEntertainmentCultureTelevision & radioPoldarkThe VoiceJohnny VegasMon, 30 Mar 2015 08:10:02 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/tvandradioblog/2015/mar/30/captain-poldarks-heaving-bosom-reigns-supremeViv Groskop2015-03-30T08:10:02ZCan Trevor Noah fill Jon Stewart's big shoes for 'Indecision 2016'?http://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2015/mar/30/trevor-noah-daily-show-election-2016
<p>The South African’s appointment is welcome – but as an outsider, can he cover the 2016 presidential campaign as convincingly as Jon Stewart would have done?</p><p>This morning, <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2015/mar/30/trevor-noah-jon-stewart-daily-show-host?CMP=share_btn_tw">Comedy Central officially announced 31-year-old South African comedian Trevor Noah as the third host of its flagship late-night show,</a> The Daily Show. Noah has been slowly working his way up the ladder of US comedy over the last few years, with <a href="http://www.sho.com/sho/comedy/titles/3379668/trevor-noah-african-american#/index ">his own Showtime special</a> and <a href="https://vimeo.com/38013449 ">appearances on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno</a> and <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ruplx_DdXC0">The Late Show with David Letterman</a>. When he joined The Daily Show back in December as an international correspondent, it seemed like a forward-thinking move on the part of the network. But it’s a big jump to take over from Jon Stewart, whose wry voice has become a pillar of American satire.</p><p>On the one hand, he’s no stranger to hosting; before he became Africa’s most successful standup, he fronted a series of television shows, including a two-year run at his own American-style late-night show, Tonight with Trevor Noah. He’s also won friends around the world – Eddie Izzard has been a big advocate, while <a href="http://deadline.com/2013/11/legendary-tv-overbrook-trevor-noah-comedy-fox-641448/">Will Smith produced a pilot for him in 2013 which never made it to air</a>. </p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2015/mar/30/trevor-noah-daily-show-election-2016">Continue reading...</a>US televisionComedyCultureTelevisionTelevision & radioComedyComedyJon StewartMediaTrevor NoahMon, 30 Mar 2015 15:03:02 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2015/mar/30/trevor-noah-daily-show-election-2016Elise Czajkowski2015-03-30T15:03:02ZWho can replace Dermot O'Leary as X Factor host?http://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/tvandradioblog/2015/mar/30/who-can-replace-dermot-oleary-as-x-factor-host
<p>He made anchoring the show – an exhausting, tricky job – look easy. But could Olly Murs or Caroline Flack live up to his standards? Or is there only one man Simon Cowell should call?<br></p><p>Several years past its heyday, X Factor finds itself greatly diminished. Now little more than a tatty coat hanger for adverts and recaps, it has desperately little to offer other than the chance to hear lots of songs you’re sick of performed by lots of people you hate.</p><p> <span>Related: </span><a href="http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2015/mar/27/dermot-oleary-quits-x-factor-eight-series">Dermot O’Leary quits X Factor after eight series</a> </p><p> <span>Related: </span><a href="http://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/tvandradioblog/2015/mar/13/dermots-24-hour-danceathon-comic-relief-oleary-red-nose-day">Dermot's 24-hour danceathon: is this Comic Relief's most heartwarming moment?</a> </p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/tvandradioblog/2015/mar/30/who-can-replace-dermot-oleary-as-x-factor-host">Continue reading...</a>Dermot O'LearyThe X FactorCultureEntertainmentTelevisionTelevision & radioMon, 30 Mar 2015 10:21:01 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/tvandradioblog/2015/mar/30/who-can-replace-dermot-oleary-as-x-factor-hostStuart Heritage2015-03-30T10:21:01ZLouis Theroux: By Reason of Insanity review – it may have been his finest hourhttp://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2015/mar/29/louis-theroux-by-reason-of-insanity-review-it-may-have-been-his-finest-hour
<p>Louis finished his time in Ohio’s high security hospitals with a look at the infinitely subtle gradations between sanity and insanity</p><p><strong>Louis Theroux: By Reason of Insanity</strong> (Sunday, BBC2) concluded with an attempt to chart the almost infinitely subtle gradations between sanity and insanity, trying to pinpoint the moment when criminal actions shade into clinical symptoms. On these impossible judgments rest such things as competence to stand trial – meaning the difference between a punitive, finite prison term and a rehabilitative but potentially lifetime stay in hospital.</p><p>The most shocking case was 25-year-old Dean’s. He had sexually assaulted his mother when he was 18. While his doctors were enumerating his behaviours and diagnoses – bipolar disorder, narcissistic personality disorder, manipulative, on top of his childhood attention deficit and oppositional defiance disorders – she laid out on the kitchen table her son’s school photos for Louis. In them you can see his eyes darken over the years. Did she see it, too, Louis wondered. She did. But in this last year she thinks he is seeming to care more about other people. She sees better, you suspect, the boy he was.</p><p> <span>Related: </span><a href="http://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2015/mar/26/louis-theroux-my-secret-fear-is-that-im-not-helping">Louis Theroux: ‘My secret fear is that I'm not helping'</a> </p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2015/mar/29/louis-theroux-by-reason-of-insanity-review-it-may-have-been-his-finest-hour">Continue reading...</a>Louis TherouxTelevisionTelevision & radioCultureSun, 29 Mar 2015 21:00:05 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2015/mar/29/louis-theroux-by-reason-of-insanity-review-it-may-have-been-his-finest-hourLucy Mangan2015-03-29T21:00:05ZThe one-way flow chart of Netflix decision-making: how to find something to watchhttp://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/shortcuts/picture/2015/mar/29/the-one-way-flow-chart-of-netflix-decision-making-how-to-find-something-to-watch
<p>In this era of set-top boxes, Netflix and Apple TV, trying to find something to watch on television can often take longer than watching the thing you finally settle on. For the generations raised on a choice between four channels and going outside for some fresh air, the sheer weight of programming on offer can be both confusing and enervating. But it needn’t be. Using this handy flow chart, you can streamline the decision-making process and find your perfect viewing matter in minutes</p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/shortcuts/picture/2015/mar/29/the-one-way-flow-chart-of-netflix-decision-making-how-to-find-something-to-watch">Continue reading...</a>TelevisionTelevisionNetflixVideo on demandMediaCultureTelevision & radioTechnologySun, 29 Mar 2015 17:00:00 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/shortcuts/picture/2015/mar/29/the-one-way-flow-chart-of-netflix-decision-making-how-to-find-something-to-watchTim Dowling2015-03-29T17:00:00ZIndian Summers recap: season one, episode seven – the importance of being villainoushttp://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/tvandradioblog/2015/mar/29/indian-summers-recap-season-one-episode-seven-the-importance-of-being-villainous
<p>Between the amateur dramatics on stage and the murder mystery unfolding elsewhere, this series is seriously picking up the pace</p><p>Somebody put something in someone’s chai last week, because Indian Summers has ramped up its game, and the good news is it’s still there. This week, allegiances were broken and rearranged like musical sedan chairs, a grief-stricken Ralph went off the rails, and a hero emerged. Saddle up!</p><p>The opening is upsetting: Jaya’s drowned, tortured corpse floating past, in the stolen wedding sari. Ralph, called to identify the body, keeps up his smooth facade with the police, denying he knows her. Alone, his sorrow breaks through, tears dropping on her cold cheek. Jaya had an effect on him that no one else did, and it holds true in death – after this, Ralph isn’t quite Ralph.</p><p> <span>Related: </span><a href="http://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2015/mar/22/indian-summers-recap-season-one-episode-six-what-a-humdinger">Indian Summers recap: season one, episode six – what a humdinger!</a> </p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/tvandradioblog/2015/mar/29/indian-summers-recap-season-one-episode-seven-the-importance-of-being-villainous">Continue reading...</a>Indian SummersTelevisionCultureTelevision & radioSun, 29 Mar 2015 21:00:05 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/tvandradioblog/2015/mar/29/indian-summers-recap-season-one-episode-seven-the-importance-of-being-villainousRhik Samadder2015-03-29T21:00:05ZCoalition review – the bloodless freaks began to swell with life and humanityhttp://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2015/mar/28/coalition-review-the-bloodless-freaks-began-to-swell-with-life-and-humanity
<p>As Clegg, Cameron and Brown maneuvered and squirmed, this political drama turned from wonkish fantasy to a flesh-and-blood triumph</p><p>The main problem I had with Saturday night’s drama <strong>Coalition</strong> (Channel 4), the story of the formation of the government after the 2010 election, had nothing to do with the drama itself. The problem was that I don’t believe in politicians as people. I have to assume I’m not alone here, what with us all being made of essentially the same stuff, living in essentially the same blighted, God-forsaken world. But I don’t, I can’t – and I’m not being flippant here – see them as fully human. I see them as aberrations, born either with important bits missing (compassion, empathy) or dangerously enlarged (ambition, single-mindedness, appetite for power), who have over the centuries developed the perfect playground to allow them to exercise their deviant longings over the captives known as the UK electorate. When I imagine looking out through a politician’s eyes, I imagine seeing thousands upon thousands of little green plastic figures where a normal person would see ... well, other normal people going about their business.</p><p>In short, I am not well-placed to receive a political drama that treats its protagonists as complex human beings. It seemed set to be a fictionalisation too far. The opening quarter or so was stuffed full of exposition and stats (Conservatives 19 seats short of a majority! Lib Dems won more votes but lost seats! A pox on the first-past-the-post system! If only there were a better way! Maybe we will come back to this!) so we were up to speed with how the interregnum had begun, but after that the bloodless freaks began to swell with life and humanity, and it was most disconcerting.</p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2015/mar/28/coalition-review-the-bloodless-freaks-began-to-swell-with-life-and-humanity">Continue reading...</a>TelevisionTelevision & radioCultureLiberal-Conservative coalitionSat, 28 Mar 2015 22:35:06 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2015/mar/28/coalition-review-the-bloodless-freaks-began-to-swell-with-life-and-humanityLucy Mangan2015-03-28T22:35:06ZA new Top Gear trio would put the show in reversehttp://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2015/mar/29/new-top-gear-trio-reverse
The BBC must acknowledge that its global franchise is finished – and think of something new<p>Goodbye <em>Downton</em>, and perhaps goodbye <em>Top Gear</em> too. When family sagas run out of steam, they’re buried with Christmas specials. When the middle-aged joshing of saloon-bar white males takes a malevolent turn, the problem is replacing an old, honed cast with something fresh that doesn’t wreck the franchise.</p><p>Mission impossible. Hammond, May and the Rampaging Hulk were a team beyond formula. Recruiting a tribute band of brothers to fill their boots is a mug’s game. Better by far to find a new hit show and make new stars. The bell tolls at Clarkson Abbey.</p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2015/mar/29/new-top-gear-trio-reverse">Continue reading...</a>Top GearJeremy ClarksonMediaTelevisionFactual TVDownton AbbeyTelevision & radioPeriod dramaTelevision industrySun, 29 Mar 2015 08:05:08 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2015/mar/29/new-top-gear-trio-reversePeter Preston2015-03-29T08:05:08ZFive ways Game of Thrones has improved on George RR Martin's bookshttp://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/tvandradioblog/2015/mar/27/game-of-thrones-tv-improved-george-rr-martins-books
<p>George RR Martin fans should not worry that Game of Thrones might throw up spoilers for forthcoming books. The TV show has repeatedly shown that it can add to the literary experience</p><p><em>Spoiler warning: discussion of events in seasons one to four of Game of Thrones, and all of A Song of Ice and Fire to date.</em></p><p>It was inevitable that HBO’s Game of Thrones would eventually overtake George RR Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire fantasy series of novels. Martin published the fifth book, A Dance with Dragons, four years ago, and so far there has not been so much as a whisper of the sixth instalment, The Winds of Winter, arriving any time soon. Still, a recent interview with Game of Thrones showrunners DB Weiss and David Benioff, in which they admitted that the forthcoming fifth season <a href="http://www.slashfilm.com/game-of-thrones-spoiling-books/">was likely to begin spoiling unpublished storylines</a>, has drawn horrified responses. Fans of the TV show are threatening to boycott it, and fans of the books are furious at being forced to follow the show for <a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/asoiaf/comments/300dnn/no_spoilers_game_of_thrones_showrunners_confirm/">fear of being spoilered</a>.</p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/tvandradioblog/2015/mar/27/game-of-thrones-tv-improved-george-rr-martins-books">Continue reading...</a>Game of ThronesGeorge RR MartinFantasyFantasyTelevision & radioTelevisionBooksCultureFictionFri, 27 Mar 2015 11:34:11 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/tvandradioblog/2015/mar/27/game-of-thrones-tv-improved-george-rr-martins-booksBen Child2015-03-27T11:34:11ZBetter Call Saul's Vince Gilligan: 'We want to reward the fans'http://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/tvandradioblog/2015/mar/27/vince-gilligan-better-call-saul
<p>Breaking Bad creator spoke during a panel in LA and revealed how fans of the show are at the heart of his creative decisions</p><p>The creator of Better Call Saul has promised to “reward” fans by staying true to the canon established by Breaking Bad.</p><p>“The folks who watch this show … they deserve to be rewarded for their strict attention,” creator Vince Gilligan told an audience at the Cary Grant Theater in Los Angeles, at a panel screening of the penultimate episode on Thursday night.</p><p> <span>Related: </span><a href="http://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/tvandradioblog/2015/mar/12/has-better-call-saul-lived-up-to-expectations">Has Better Call Saul lived up to expectations?</a> </p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/tvandradioblog/2015/mar/27/vince-gilligan-better-call-saul">Continue reading...</a>TelevisionCultureBreaking BadBetter Call SaulTelevision & radioFri, 27 Mar 2015 19:41:35 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/tvandradioblog/2015/mar/27/vince-gilligan-better-call-saulLauren Gambino2015-03-27T19:41:35ZThe end of Downton Abbey: why I won't be shedding a tearhttp://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/tvandradioblog/2015/mar/26/the-end-of-downton-abbey-why-i-wont-be-shedding-a-tear
<p>Downton Abbey’s sixth season will be its final small-screen outing. It’s hard to know whether to laugh or cry – because despite the gloss and glitz, this show is outstandingly bad</p><p>It is hard to know whether to cry or cry. The end of Downton Abbey has been confirmed. “Inevitably there comes a time when all shows should end and Downton is no exception,” intoned Gareth Neame, executive producer of Downton Abbey, borrowing the sorrowful tones of Mr Carson when faced with another missing ham from Mrs Patmore’s cold-meats cupboard.</p><p>Downton, the highest-rating UK drama of the past decade across any channel, has taken its place in the British psyche and become a bizarre, reactionary cultural ambassador for us across the globe, occasioning Chinese oligarchs to engage butlers and housemaids, and American fans to host Downton parties where they – and their dogs – wear lilac veiled fascinators in tribute to Cousin Violet.</p><p> <span>Related: </span><a href="http://www.theguardian.com/media/2015/mar/26/downton-abbey-to-end-after-season-six">Downton Abbey to end after season six</a> </p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/tvandradioblog/2015/mar/26/the-end-of-downton-abbey-why-i-wont-be-shedding-a-tear">Continue reading...</a>Downton AbbeyPeriod dramaDramaTelevisionCultureTelevision & radioITV channelThu, 26 Mar 2015 18:03:59 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/tvandradioblog/2015/mar/26/the-end-of-downton-abbey-why-i-wont-be-shedding-a-tearViv Groskop2015-03-26T18:03:59ZUnreported World: The City That Beat Isis review – a 3am Girl goes to Syriahttp://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2015/mar/28/unreported-world-the-city-that-beat-isis-review
<p>Two seriously gutsy journalists smuggle themselves into a pulverised Kobani to witness the final days of the battle between Isis and the Kurds</p><p>Reporter Kiki King has a serious pair of bollocks. So does James Brabazon, director of <a href="http://www.channel4.com/programmes/unreported-world" title=""><strong>Unreported World: The City That Beat Isis</strong></a> (Channel 4). Earlier in the year they got themselves smuggled into Kobani while it was surrounded – and still partly occupied – by the Islamic State. They witnessed the last days of the battle that saw Kurdish fighters finally repel the jihadis from the Syrian city.</p><p>I don’t know anything about Kiki’s and James’s family situations, but their mums must have been having kittens. Maybe they just sneak off without telling, or lie (like westerners going to fight for the caliphate, ironically). “Yeah, it’s like a travel programme we’re filming, Mum, cool places to go to beat the winter blues, Turkey and thereabouts … ” Maybe Kiki tells her mother she’s still a tabloid showbiz reporter. Actually, that’s probably pretty good training – if you’re hard enough to take the flak that comes with being a 3am Girl at the Daily Mirror, you can easily cope with anything those Isis pussies throw at you.</p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2015/mar/28/unreported-world-the-city-that-beat-isis-review">Continue reading...</a>Factual TVDocumentaryTelevisionCultureTelevision & radioWorld newsSat, 28 Mar 2015 07:44:11 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2015/mar/28/unreported-world-the-city-that-beat-isis-reviewSam Wollaston2015-03-28T07:44:11ZBloodline's forebears: six brilliant family dramas from Six Feet Under to Empirehttp://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/tvandradioblog/2015/mar/27/bloodlines-forebears-six-brilliant-family-dramas-from-six-feet-under-to-empire
<p>Netflix’s new thriller introduces us to the latest in a much-loved line of backbiting TV families. Which has been your favourite on-screen saga?<br></p><p>Netflix’s new show Bloodline is a twisty thriller with hints of long-suppressed secrets and devastating betrayals. It’s also an excellent example of a family drama, which draws its power from the contrast between the supposedly perfect front that the Rayburns present to the world and the darker reality lurking behind closed doors. Here are six other shows that put family life in the spotlight.</p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/tvandradioblog/2015/mar/27/bloodlines-forebears-six-brilliant-family-dramas-from-six-feet-under-to-empire">Continue reading...</a>DramaTelevisionCultureTelevision & radioFri, 27 Mar 2015 10:29:14 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/tvandradioblog/2015/mar/27/bloodlines-forebears-six-brilliant-family-dramas-from-six-feet-under-to-empireSarah Hughes2015-03-27T10:29:14ZQueer As Folk box set review – just the thing if there’s a Cucumber-shaped hole in your lifehttp://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2015/mar/27/queer-as-folk-review-gay-cucumber-aidan-gillen
With Aidan Gillen as alpha-gay filthy charmer Stuart, this turn-of-the-millennium exploration of life on Manchester’s Canal Street is full of sex, clubbing and heartbreak<p>When <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/culture/2015/jan/06/how-we-made-queer-as-folk-russell-t-davies">Queer As Folk</a> first aired in 1999, it was an Ofcom-bothering hit that offered a shameless education on rimming, unrequited love, and the sort of sexual positions that had never been seen on TV before – as well as fabulous lines like: “Ooh, I’d stick my head up his arse and wear him like a hat” and “I snogged a woman once. It was like kissing the Body Shop.”</p><p>So if you have a Cucumber-shaped hole in your life, as <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/media/2015/jan/17/russell-t-davies-cucumber-banana-tofu">Russell T Davies</a>’s midlife-crisis, gay drama recedes into the past, there couldn’t be a better time to revisit his breakthrough hit, which brought the hedonistic joys of a pre-Grindr world to mainstream viewing. Imagine the greatest night out you’ve ever had in all its pumping-disco, loose-lipped glory, and then that feeling when you come down to earth with a bang. That’s Queer As Folk.</p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2015/mar/27/queer-as-folk-review-gay-cucumber-aidan-gillen">Continue reading...</a>SexAidan GillenLife and styleTelevisionTelevision & radioLGBT rightsDramaCultureFri, 27 Mar 2015 07:00:06 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2015/mar/27/queer-as-folk-review-gay-cucumber-aidan-gillenHannah Verdier2015-03-27T07:00:06ZInside No 9 review – the couchette is crammed with comic characters, but I’m just not laughinghttp://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2015/mar/27/inside-no-9-couchette-shearsmith-pemberton-review
There are nightcaps, undressing, farting, pants, bodies, sex, snoring, and some more macabre cadaver business too – and Shearsmith and Pemberton exploit pretty much all of it<p>So what’s the No 9 we’re inside in <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b05p65sn" title=""><strong>Inside No 9</strong></a> (BBC2) this time? Couchette No 9, on a train speeding through the night through Europe. Good one. I think a couchette naturally lends itself to humour – the noise, and the motion, the romance and the adventure, the potential for new love, death, murder. Also – mainly – the fact that it’s a place where people go to bed just a few inches from total strangers. With all the stuff associated with bed and going to it – nightcaps, undressing, farting, pants, bodies, sex, snoring etc. And of course there’s also a good chance of foreigners, so they bring all their national characteristics, stereotypes, unique foreign bodies and foreign smells to the couchette party.</p><p>Heck, I’ve even had an amusing time on the sleeper to Scotland. China was funnier though, certainly stranger … But this isn’t about me. What I’m saying is, a couchette should suit Reece Shearsmith and Steve Pemberton’s finely observed, imaginative, dark, anarchic humour well. Should and does. They exploit pretty much all of the above.</p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2015/mar/27/inside-no-9-couchette-shearsmith-pemberton-review">Continue reading...</a>ComedyTelevisionTelevision & radioCultureFri, 27 Mar 2015 07:02:06 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2015/mar/27/inside-no-9-couchette-shearsmith-pemberton-reviewSam Wollaston2015-03-27T07:02:06ZFortitude recap: season one, episode nine – 'Part Coen brothers, part Beckett'http://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/tvandradioblog/2015/mar/26/fortitude-recap-season-one-episode-nine-part-coen-brothers-part-beckett
<p>This blackly comic episode finally gave us a sense that we might be in for a big, satisfying ending</p><p><em>Spoiler alert: This recap refers to events in episode nine of <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/fortitude">Fortitude</a>.</em></p><p><a href="http://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2015/mar/19/fortitude-recap-season-one-episode-eight-is-it-science-or-supernatural">Read the episode eight recap</a></p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/tvandradioblog/2015/mar/26/fortitude-recap-season-one-episode-nine-part-coen-brothers-part-beckett">Continue reading...</a>FortitudeSky AtlanticDramaTelevisionTelevision & radioCultureThu, 26 Mar 2015 21:55:04 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/tvandradioblog/2015/mar/26/fortitude-recap-season-one-episode-nine-part-coen-brothers-part-beckettGwilym Mumford2015-03-26T21:55:04ZJeremy Paxman begins his post-BBC career in the Battle for Number 10http://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/tvandradioblog/2015/mar/26/jeremy-paxman-bbc-election-interviews-cameron-miliband
<p>Paxo takes on politicians again in tonight’s C4/Sky News election interviews with David Cameron and Ed Miliband. There can be few TV programmes on which so much has rested – for the questioner as much as the questioned</p><p>Just a day after one of TV’s most famous presenters begins to contemplate a career without the BBC, another begins his post-corporation career. Thursday night’s election special, Cameron and Miliband: The Battle for Number 10 (Channel 4/Sky News, 9pm),<em tabindex="-1"> </em>will see Jeremy Paxman interview the two contenders to be prime minister.<br tabindex="-1" /></p><p>Paxman is a big, vivid beast of broadcasting, without whom the screens have felt duller and safer. Although Jeremy Clarkson was forced to leave the BBC while Paxman chose to go, the Top Gear presenter’s fans feel the same about him.</p><p> <span>Related: </span><a href="http://www.theguardian.com/media/2014/jun/19/jeremy-paxman-last-newsnight-review">Jeremy Paxman's final Newsnight - TV review</a> </p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/tvandradioblog/2015/mar/26/jeremy-paxman-bbc-election-interviews-cameron-miliband">Continue reading...</a>Jeremy PaxmanPolitics TVFactual TVTelevision & radioTelevisionMediaCultureGeneral election 2015Thu, 26 Mar 2015 12:12:32 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/tvandradioblog/2015/mar/26/jeremy-paxman-bbc-election-interviews-cameron-milibandMark Lawson2015-03-26T12:12:32ZLouis Theroux: ‘My secret fear is that I'm not helping'http://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2015/mar/26/louis-theroux-my-secret-fear-is-that-im-not-helping
<p>The quirky documentarian has graduated from Weird Weekends to must-see TV, though the dark places he goes to can sometimes haunt him. ‘I wish I had pursued Jimmy Savile more aggressively,’ he admits</p><p>When I meet <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/louis-theroux">Louis Theroux</a>, in a restaurant tucked across the road from BBC Broadcasting House, we miss two things going on in the street outside. One is a total eclipse of the sun and the other is a gang of fans of <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/media/jeremyclarkson">Jeremy Clarkson</a>, who are delivering a petition to have their hero reinstated. It is perhaps just as well they don’t see us, as Clarkson’s removal means that Theroux’s latest series of documentaries has been bumped up the schedule and broadcast early. I wonder what Top Gear fans will think if they tune in expecting blokish car banter, and instead hear trans pre-teens talking about removing their genitalia, or a psychiatric patient explaining why he beat his father to death with a baseball bat.</p><p>I also wonder what regular viewers of Theroux now make of him; slowly but surely, it seems to me, he has gone from being the funny geek who spent weekends with hypnotists, porn stars and a lecherous Christine Hamilton, to a maker of sensitive and important investigations.</p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2015/mar/26/louis-theroux-my-secret-fear-is-that-im-not-helping">Continue reading...</a>Louis TherouxTelevisionTelevision & radioCultureDocumentaryFactual TVBBC2BBCMediaTelevision industryThu, 26 Mar 2015 07:00:05 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2015/mar/26/louis-theroux-my-secret-fear-is-that-im-not-helpingSophie Heawood2015-03-26T07:00:05ZSix steps to … Liz Hurley as Queen Helena in The Royalshttp://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/tvandradioblog/2015/mar/26/liz-hurley-queen-helena-the-royals-posh-people-on-tv
<p>From To the Manor Born to Downton Abbey and Fresh Meat – how posh people have evolved on TV</p><p>The posh occupy a peculiar place in British public life – from William and Kate to James Blunt, they are equal parts comfort blanket and scratching post. And, naturally, the same applies to the journey of posh archetypes through the history of our television. We can’t quite decide between scorn and affection but, all the same, they represent an itch we seem compelled to scratch. </p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/tvandradioblog/2015/mar/26/liz-hurley-queen-helena-the-royals-posh-people-on-tv">Continue reading...</a>The RoyalsDramaTelevision & radioTelevisionCultureBritish identity and societyThu, 26 Mar 2015 09:15:15 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/tvandradioblog/2015/mar/26/liz-hurley-queen-helena-the-royals-posh-people-on-tvPhilip Harrison2015-03-26T09:15:15ZHomes Under the Hammer: brilliant daytime TV – with added Dion Dublinhttp://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/tvandradioblog/2015/mar/26/homes-under-the-hammer-brilliant-daytime-tv-with-added-dion-dublin
<p>Less property porn, more gawping at wrecks – the mighty Homes Under the Hammer is still the jewel in the scheduling crown. Here’s why …</p><p>Daytime telly rarely offers cause for celebration, but there’s one golden hour in the schedule to make even the most hardened workaholic grateful for a duvet day: Homes Under the Hammer.</p><p>Property porn this is not. The premise is simple: charismatic presenters Lucy Alexander <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cUzIR81w9VE">and Martin Roberts</a> look round a battered old house going up for auction, stalk the buyer and then return months later to see if they’ve given it a makeover and bagged shedloads of profit. </p><p> <span>Related: </span><a href="http://www.theguardian.com/football/2015/mar/25/dion-dublin-bbc-homes-under-the-hammer">Dion Dublin named as new presenter for BBC’s Homes Under the Hammer</a> </p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/tvandradioblog/2015/mar/26/homes-under-the-hammer-brilliant-daytime-tv-with-added-dion-dublin">Continue reading...</a>Daytime TVHomesLife and styleTelevisionThu, 26 Mar 2015 11:37:27 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/tvandradioblog/2015/mar/26/homes-under-the-hammer-brilliant-daytime-tv-with-added-dion-dublinHannah Verdier2015-03-26T11:37:27ZReece Shearsmith’s TV nightmareshttp://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2015/mar/26/inside-no-9-reece-shearsmith
<p>As a second series looms, Inside No 9’s star and co-writer pays tribute to the creepy, unpredictable sci-fi and horror anthology shows that inspired it</p><ul><li>Plus: scroll down to watch his favourite episodes in a YouTube playlist</li></ul><p>Like most people, my childhood was spent decapitating Action Men and making the house from The Tell-Tale Heart by Edgar Allan Poe with removable floorboards made from a Weetabix box. Nothing unusual about that, you may say. But more unusual was what I did the rest of the time. The rest of the time was spent watching late-night, often random episodes of various long-running anthology series. (“Anthology series” being a radio or TV series that presents a different story and a different set of characters in each episode or season).</p><p> <span>Related: </span><a href="http://www.theguardian.com/stage/2013/jul/10/reece-shearsmith-very-unsure-of-myself">Reece Shearsmith: 'I'm very unsure of myself as a person'</a> </p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2015/mar/26/inside-no-9-reece-shearsmith">Continue reading...</a>Horror (TV)TelevisionTelevision & radioCultureThe League of GentlemenThu, 26 Mar 2015 09:00:04 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2015/mar/26/inside-no-9-reece-shearsmithReece Shearsmith2015-03-26T09:00:04ZBees, sinkholes, hipsters: new X-Files mysteries for Mulder and Scullyhttp://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/shortcuts/2015/mar/25/new-x-files-episodes-cases-for-mulder-and-scully
It’s official – TV’s favourite paranormal investigations team will soon be back together again. Here are the modern mysteries we’d like to see them solve …<br /><br /><p>It’s just been “a 13-year commercial break”, says <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/the-x-files">X-Files</a> creator Chris Carter, as <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/culture/david-duchovny">David Duchovny</a> and <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/stage/2015/feb/08/gillian-anderson-on-therapy-rebellion-and-being-weird">Gillian Anderson</a> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2015/mar/24/the-x-files-return-tv-david-duchovny-gillian-anderson">get the go-ahead to return for six new episodes in the roles that made them famous</a>. “The good news,” he suggests, “is the world has only gotten that much stranger, a perfect time to tell these stories.” He’s right: we can think of endless mysteries from the intervening years that would be perfect for the will‑they-won’t-they-oh-they-sorta-did duo to solve.</p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/shortcuts/2015/mar/25/new-x-files-episodes-cases-for-mulder-and-scully">Continue reading...</a>The X-FilesTelevisionCultureTelevision & radioUS televisionScience fictionWed, 25 Mar 2015 18:52:01 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/shortcuts/2015/mar/25/new-x-files-episodes-cases-for-mulder-and-scullyGavin Haynes2015-03-25T18:52:01ZHillary Clinton: the Power of Women; The Ladykillers: Pest Detectives review – the battle goes onhttp://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2015/mar/26/hillary-clinton-power-of-women-ladykillers-pest-detectives
Move over Hillary and friends – the really powerful woman around here is Imogen the bedbug hunter<p>Television pundits are usually “comedians” you’ve never heard of. “Writers and broadcasters” desperate to become a tiny bit famous, who’ll come and say anything (“The 70s, they were good. Choppers, yay!) for a few quid if they’re lucky. Sometimes I even get asked (I&nbsp;know, imagine!). I say no, otherwise I might have to review myself, which would be ugly.</p><p><a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b05nz2r1" title=""><strong>Hillary Clinton: the Power of Women</strong></a> (BBC2) not only has a much higher level of discussion – what has changed for women and girls in the world during the last 20 years – but also a much classier cast of pundits in three former US secretaries of state: Madeleine Albright, Condoleezza Rice and Clinton herself, who of course may be headed higher still.</p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2015/mar/26/hillary-clinton-power-of-women-ladykillers-pest-detectives">Continue reading...</a>Hillary ClintonWomenTelevisionTelevision & radioCultureThu, 26 Mar 2015 07:00:05 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2015/mar/26/hillary-clinton-power-of-women-ladykillers-pest-detectivesSam Wollaston2015-03-26T07:00:05ZBertie Carvel: ‘I don’t envy Nick Clegg watching me play him’http://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2015/mar/26/bertie-carvel-plays-nick-clegg-in-tv-drama-coalition
<p>What is the essence of Clegg? Actor Bertie Carvel embarked on an odyssey to capture the ‘Platonic ideal’ of the deputy PM for new TV drama Coalition. So will he be tragic hero – or comedy fall guy?</p><p>Bertie Carvel is explaining why some viewers might find his performance as the deputy prime minister disappointing. “I can’t out-Nick Clegg Nick Clegg. Nobody can be as perfect as <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/politics/nickclegg">Nick Clegg</a>. He is perfect.” Carvel, wearing a superbly tailored blue suit and the kind of beard that’s become programatically unacceptable in LibDem circles since they kicked off the plastic sandals of political impotence and took up the reins of governmental power, giggles. “Make sure that has the right level of irony when you quote it. He’s perfect. So I don’t want to be doing a performance that’s measured by the accuracy of my impersonation. “</p><p>But many viewers of Coalition, Channel 4’s TV election drama, will be judging you precisely on that accuracy. And not just you. They’ll be micro-analysing Mark Dexter’s David Cameron, thinking perhaps he isn’t as Brylcreemed or facially lardy as the genuine article; wondering why Ian Grieve’s Gordon Brown makes the then PM look more hobbled by beer gut than memory serves; and perhaps asking themselves if Mark Gatiss is channelling a more deliciously camp version of Mycroft Holmes in his interpretation of Peter Mandelson.</p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2015/mar/26/bertie-carvel-plays-nick-clegg-in-tv-drama-coalition">Continue reading...</a>DramaTelevision & radioCulturePoliticsGeneral election 2010UK newsNick CleggTelevisionLiberal-Conservative coalitionThu, 26 Mar 2015 07:00:08 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2015/mar/26/bertie-carvel-plays-nick-clegg-in-tv-drama-coalitionStuart Jeffries2015-03-26T07:00:08ZThe Big Bang Theory's brilliant chemistry remains irresistiblehttp://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/tvandradioblog/2015/mar/25/big-bang-theory-my-delayed-reaction-to-its-brilliant-chemistry
<p>The US comedy failed to tickle my funny bone at first, but the characters grew on me like a virulent fungus in a lab experiment. It’s fast heading into the televisual territory of Friends</p><p>It was 2.23pm on Tuesday 18 November 2014. This was the moment I first laughed while watching an episode of The Big Bang Theory. Until then, the hit CBS show, which returned to UK screens last Thursday, had failed completely in tickling my funny bone despite the adventures of physicists Sheldon and Leonard (Jim Parsons and Johnny Galecki), astrophysicist Raj (Kunal Nayyar) and aerospace engineer Howard (Simon Helberg) attracting a steady weekly audience of 20 million viewers in the US.</p><p> For some comicbook and sci-fi fans, The Big Bang Theory’s humour is too broad; pitched at the lowest common de-nerd-inator. But for its disciples, the show’s mass appeal is its great strength – it functions almost as one long 22-minute meme, and not a TV programme at all.</p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/tvandradioblog/2015/mar/25/big-bang-theory-my-delayed-reaction-to-its-brilliant-chemistry">Continue reading...</a>The Big Bang TheoryComedyTelevision & radioScience and nature TVComedyTelevisionCultureTechnologyWed, 25 Mar 2015 12:51:32 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/tvandradioblog/2015/mar/25/big-bang-theory-my-delayed-reaction-to-its-brilliant-chemistryRoss McGuinness2015-03-25T12:51:32ZThe X Files returns: but do television resurrections ever work?http://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2015/mar/24/x-files-tv-revival-fox
<p>As the 90s hit returns with original stars David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson, Brian Moylan asks: is it the right time to bring it back from the dead?</p><p>There is nothing more vocal than the fans of a beloved show that has been cancelled, especially if they feel like it has been cancelled before its prime. Now that the number of television platforms is proliferating and those with established platforms are looking for sure-fire hits, chances for revival are greater than ever. But is it ever worth it?</p><p>We’ll get to assess this question yet again thanks to The X-Files. On Tuesday, Fox announced that <a href="http://preview.gutools.co.uk/tv-and-radio/2015/mar/24/the-x-files-return-tv-david-duchovny-gillian-anderson">it has ordered six episodes of the alien investigation show from the 90s after a 13-year absence</a>. If the truth has been out there all along, it seems like Fox is determined to find it. The X-Files new episodes will feature original stars David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson (currently killing it in the UK and on Netflix in The Fall) and will be written and directed by series creator Chris Carter. Production will take place this summer and the premiere date will be announced sometime in the near future.</p><p> <span>Related: </span><a href="http://www.theguardian.com/stage/2015/feb/08/gillian-anderson-on-therapy-rebellion-and-being-weird">Gillian Anderson on therapy, rebellion and 'being weird'</a> </p><p> <span>Related: </span><a href="http://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/feb/22/david-duchovny-holy-cow-hell-highwater-x-files-rachel-cooke">David Duchovny: ‘I’ve more self-doubt as an actor than as a writer’</a> </p><p> <span>Related: </span><a href="http://www.theguardian.com/culture/2013/jul/18/san-diego-comic-con-x-files">Mulder and Scully at San Diego Comic-Con: the 13 best X-Files episodes ever</a> </p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2015/mar/24/x-files-tv-revival-fox">Continue reading...</a>US televisionCultureTelevisionTelevision & radioGillian AndersonDavid DuchovnyTue, 24 Mar 2015 19:10:24 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2015/mar/24/x-files-tv-revival-foxBrian Moylan2015-03-24T19:10:24ZTeens review – it’s about teenagers, so it’s OK that it’s unpredictable and a bit annoyinghttp://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2015/mar/25/teens-tv-review-unpredictable
The lesson of this sad and hilarious film is that being a teenager today is pretty much the same as in my day – a nightmare<p>I don’t have teenagers, yet. So <a href="http://www.channel4.com/programmes/teens" title=""><strong>Teens</strong></a> (Channel 4) is like some kind of doom prophecy. It’s made by the people who made The Secret Lives of Students, in a similar way. As well as allowing themselves to be filmed, these 16- and 17-year-olds have surrendered their digital lives – texts, Twitter, Facebook, Snapchat, Instagram etc. Like a documentary made with the aid of GCHQ and the NSA, only with the knowledge and blessing of the snoopees.</p><p>It takes a bit of getting used to – text all over the screen, alerts and beeps. Teens, like subtitled foreign television, is not a good one to watch with your tea, unless you’re a champion multi-tasker. But it’s much more than a gimmick; what’s happening on a teen’s phone is a massive part of what’s happening in their life; ignore it and you’re missing out on a big part of the story. More than that, it can be a more intimate, honest place, where they might lay themselves (bare) bare, express things they don’t in person. It’s where love happens, betrayal, war. New language, too – useful for an embarrassing old dad or mum, reading over a kid’s shoulder.</p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2015/mar/25/teens-tv-review-unpredictable">Continue reading...</a>DocumentaryFactual TVTelevisionTelevision & radioCultureWed, 25 Mar 2015 07:00:10 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2015/mar/25/teens-tv-review-unpredictableSam Wollaston2015-03-25T07:00:10ZJon Hamm reveals he went to rehab for alcoholism before final Mad Men seasonhttp://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2015/mar/25/jon-hamm-reveals-he-went-to-rehab-for-alcoholism-ahead-of-final-mad-men-season
<p>Disclosure of Mad Men actor’s treatment for alcohol addiction comes as his character Don Draper returns for the final episodes of the US advertising drama</p><p>Mad Men star Jon Hamm has recently completed a course of treatment for alcoholism, a spokesperson for the actor has confirmed.</p><p>Hamm entered rehab to tackle his addiction with the support of his longtime partner, fellow actor and film-maker Jennifer Westfeldt, their publicist Annett Wolf said in a statement released on Tuesday. </p><p> <span>Related: </span><a href="http://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2013/nov/16/jon-hamm-don-draper-daniel-radcliffe">Jon Hamm interview: 'Don Draper is dismal and despicable'</a> </p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2015/mar/25/jon-hamm-reveals-he-went-to-rehab-for-alcoholism-ahead-of-final-mad-men-season">Continue reading...</a>Jon HammMad MenUS televisionTelevisionTelevision & radioFilmCultureAlcoholismWed, 25 Mar 2015 03:07:31 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2015/mar/25/jon-hamm-reveals-he-went-to-rehab-for-alcoholism-ahead-of-final-mad-men-seasonGuardian staff2015-03-25T03:07:31ZNancy Banks-Smith on The Archers: after the floodhttp://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2015/mar/24/a-month-in-ambridge-great-flood-freda-death
Farewell then, Freda, swept away in the Great Ambridge Flood. Your silence spoke volumes<p><em>“Too much of water hast thou, poor Ophelia”</em></p><p><a href="http://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/tvandradioblog/2011/mar/16/the-archers-extra-bbc-radio-4" title="">Freda Fry</a> was one of The Archers’ famous silent characters. These are the spear-carriers of Ambridge. Like extras, they are speechless, unsung and save the BBC a great deal of money. There was a time when Freda attracted the admiration of Nathan Booth, another totally silent character. It was a disturbing little idyll. You never knew what they were up to.</p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2015/mar/24/a-month-in-ambridge-great-flood-freda-death">Continue reading...</a>The ArchersRadio dramaRadio 4RadioCultureTue, 24 Mar 2015 19:09:53 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2015/mar/24/a-month-in-ambridge-great-flood-freda-deathNancy Banks-Smith2015-03-24T19:09:53ZThe Dovekeepers: latest Biblical epic goes easy on the tubthumpinghttp://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2015/mar/31/the-dovekeepers-latest-biblical-epic-goes-easy-on-the-tubthumping
<p>It’s Easter, and a slew of religious TV dramas are filling our screens – but this retelling of the siege at Masada is subtler, and soapier, than the rest</p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2015/mar/31/the-dovekeepers-latest-biblical-epic-goes-easy-on-the-tubthumping">Continue reading...</a>US televisionTelevisionCultureTelevision & radioChristianityReligionTue, 31 Mar 2015 21:05:24 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2015/mar/31/the-dovekeepers-latest-biblical-epic-goes-easy-on-the-tubthumpingBrian Moylan2015-03-31T21:05:24ZRuPaul's Drag race recap: season seven, episode five – the Despy awardshttp://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2015/mar/31/rupauls-drag-race-recap-season-seven-episode-five-the-despy-awards
<p>The ceremony involved a millennial meltdown and a queen wilting in the shade, but it was Miss Fame’s surprising chicken soliloquy that stole the show</p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2015/mar/31/rupauls-drag-race-recap-season-seven-episode-five-the-despy-awards">Continue reading...</a>US televisionTelevisionCultureTelevision & radioComedyReality TVComedyTue, 31 Mar 2015 15:20:25 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2015/mar/31/rupauls-drag-race-recap-season-seven-episode-five-the-despy-awardsDominic Rushe and Megan Carpentier2015-03-31T15:20:25ZHoward Smith obituaryhttp://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2015/mar/31/howard-smith-obituary
<a href="http://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2015/mar/31/howard-smith-obituary">Continue reading...</a>DocumentaryTelevisionTelevision & radioFactual TVBBCMediaIrelandTue, 31 Mar 2015 14:06:23 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2015/mar/31/howard-smith-obituaryGiles Oakley2015-03-31T14:06:23ZJames May: I don't know if I'll stay at Top Gear – videohttp://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/video/2015/mar/31/james-may-top-gear-jeremy-clarkson-sacking-video
James May says he is unsure of his future with Top Gear after the sacking of co-host Jeremy Clarkson. May, in an interview outside his home in London, says his contract with the show ends on 31 March, but he does not yet know what his next move will be. May says that despite the circumstances, it is good that the show has left the audience wanting more <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/video/2015/mar/31/james-may-top-gear-jeremy-clarkson-sacking-video">Continue reading...</a>Top GearJeremy ClarksonBBCLondonMediaTelevision & radioTue, 31 Mar 2015 13:23:09 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/video/2015/mar/31/james-may-top-gear-jeremy-clarkson-sacking-videoGuardian Staff2015-03-31T13:23:09ZCosta Del Sol: The Last Brits Standing - the end of an expat dream?http://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2015/mar/31/the-last-brits-standing-filipa-jodelka
<p>Whatever happened to those hazy dreams of relocation to the sun and a Sunday roast in 40-degree heat? BBC1’s new documentary spills all</p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2015/mar/31/the-last-brits-standing-filipa-jodelka">Continue reading...</a>TelevisionTelevision & radioCultureDocumentaryFactual TVTue, 31 Mar 2015 08:00:02 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2015/mar/31/the-last-brits-standing-filipa-jodelkaFilipa Jodelka2015-03-31T08:00:02ZTuesday’s best TVhttp://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2015/mar/31/tuesday-best-tv-free-speech-nurse-teenagers
Rick Edwards wrangles with the political questions of the day, a documentary attempts to capture an accurate portrait of teenage life and Paul Whitehouse shines as an eccentric octogenarian <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2015/mar/31/tuesday-best-tv-free-speech-nurse-teenagers">Continue reading...</a>TelevisionTelevision & radioCultureTue, 31 Mar 2015 05:00:08 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2015/mar/31/tuesday-best-tv-free-speech-nurse-teenagersRachel Aroesti, Ben Arnold, Jonathan Wright, Ali Catterall, Graeme Virtue, Andrew Mueller2015-03-31T05:00:08ZTop Gear's Andy Wilman tells staff 'au revoir' after Jeremy Clarkson exithttp://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2015/mar/31/top-gear-producer-andy-wilman-quits-in-wake-of-jeremy-clarkson-sacking
<p>BBC show’s executive producer thanks team in apparent farewell email – but he denies it is a resignation statement<br></p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2015/mar/31/top-gear-producer-andy-wilman-quits-in-wake-of-jeremy-clarkson-sacking">Continue reading...</a>Top GearUK newsTelevision & radioTelevision industryBBCSydneyAustralia newsJeremy ClarksonFactual TVMediaTelevisionCultureTue, 31 Mar 2015 04:12:58 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2015/mar/31/top-gear-producer-andy-wilman-quits-in-wake-of-jeremy-clarkson-sackingMichael Safi and John Plunkett2015-03-31T04:12:58ZRace-based TV comedies: a breath of fresh air or perpetuating stereotypes?http://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2015/mar/31/race-based-tv-comedies-a-breath-of-fresh-air-or-perpetuating-stereotypes
<p>Maximum Choppage, the ABC’s Asian Australian television comedy, proves that scoring points off preconceptions often serves to reinforce them</p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2015/mar/31/race-based-tv-comedies-a-breath-of-fresh-air-or-perpetuating-stereotypes">Continue reading...</a>Australian televisionTelevisionTelevision & radioCultureComedyComedyRace & religionRace issuesTue, 31 Mar 2015 01:45:47 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2015/mar/31/race-based-tv-comedies-a-breath-of-fresh-air-or-perpetuating-stereotypesShuk-Wah Chung2015-03-31T01:45:47ZTrevor Noah – from Soweto to The Daily Showhttp://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2015/mar/30/trevor-noah-from-soweto-to-the-daily-show
<p>At 31, the South African comic has hardly broken sweat through a meteoric rise that has taken him to one of the most high-profile spots on American television</p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2015/mar/30/trevor-noah-from-soweto-to-the-daily-show">Continue reading...</a>US televisionComedyComedyCultureTelevisionTelevision & radioTrevor NoahMon, 30 Mar 2015 22:04:04 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2015/mar/30/trevor-noah-from-soweto-to-the-daily-showBruce Dessau2015-03-30T22:04:04ZDaily Show: now it's not all white on late night, but what about the women?http://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2015/mar/30/daily-show-trevor-noah-late-night-diversity-comedy-central
<p>Trevor Noah named as Jon Stewart’s successor is Comedy Central’s latest stride toward racial diversity – so when will more women to join the party?</p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2015/mar/30/daily-show-trevor-noah-late-night-diversity-comedy-central">Continue reading...</a>US televisionTelevisionCultureTelevision & radioRace issuesComedyComedy CentralTrevor NoahMon, 30 Mar 2015 21:03:44 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2015/mar/30/daily-show-trevor-noah-late-night-diversity-comedy-centralAshley Clark2015-03-30T21:03:44ZTrevor Noah to succeed Jon Stewart as host of The Daily Showhttp://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2015/mar/30/trevor-noah-jon-stewart-daily-show-host
<p>The 31-year-old South African comedian will fill Stewart’s shoes on Comedy Central’s satirical news program later this year</p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2015/mar/30/trevor-noah-jon-stewart-daily-show-host">Continue reading...</a>US televisionTelevisionJon StewartMediaComedy CentralUS television industryUS newsSouth AfricaCultureTrevor NoahMon, 30 Mar 2015 15:44:41 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2015/mar/30/trevor-noah-jon-stewart-daily-show-hostLauren Gambino in New York and agencies2015-03-30T15:44:41ZThe Ark’s Nico Mirallegro: ‘I was a bit of a nuisance’http://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2015/mar/30/nico-mirallegro-the-ark
<p>Few actors make the leap from soaps to smart dramas but Mirallegro has graduated from Hollyoaks to BBC primetime and Bafta nominations. Meet the accidental pin-up who refuses to settle for any old role</p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2015/mar/30/nico-mirallegro-the-ark">Continue reading...</a>DramaTelevisionTelevision & radioCultureHollyoaksMon, 30 Mar 2015 08:00:11 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2015/mar/30/nico-mirallegro-the-arkGabriel Tate2015-03-30T08:00:11ZCatch-up TV guide: from Once Upon A Time to Problems/tv-and-radio/2015/mar/28/catch-up-tv-guide
<p>Netflx has found a home for cult series Once Upon A Time and there’s dark comedy from Australia over on UKTV Play</p><p>When Channel 5 surprisingly dropped this faintly Lost-inflected fantasy series from its schedules in 2013, it dismayed a small but smitten band of devotees who had fallen hard for its allegorically repurposed modern take on classic fairytales. However, a platform can be found for almost everything these days and, perhaps inevitably, Netflix has stepped into the breach and given Once Upon A Time a new home. For UK fans, there’s an exciting amount of catching up to do: season four has already begun but season three didn’t make it to British screens and is also available on Netflix now.</p> <a href="/tv-and-radio/2015/mar/28/catch-up-tv-guide">Continue reading...</a>TelevisionTelevision & radioCultureFri, 28 Nov 2014 15:42:56 GMT/tv-and-radio/2015/mar/28/catch-up-tv-guidePhil Harrison2014-11-28T15:42:56ZNew TV and film to stream on Netflix and Amazon Prime Instant Video in January/tv-and-radio/tvandradioblog/2015/jan/01/new-tv-film-netflix-amazon-prime-instant-video-january
<p>Catch up on Educating Yorkshire and the last season of Sons of Anarchy on Netflix, while 12 Years a Slave and season five of Mad Men join Amazon Prime</p><p><strong>TV</strong><br /></p> <a href="/tv-and-radio/tvandradioblog/2015/jan/01/new-tv-film-netflix-amazon-prime-instant-video-january">Continue reading...</a>TelevisionTelevision & radioCultureNetflixAmazon Prime Instant VideoMon, 01 Dec 2014 12:01:05 GMT/tv-and-radio/tvandradioblog/2015/jan/01/new-tv-film-netflix-amazon-prime-instant-video-januaryGuardian TV2014-12-01T12:01:05ZBear Grylls’s favourite TV/tv-and-radio/2015/mar/30/bear-grylls-favourite-tv
<p>The intrepid island adventurer on MacGyver, Attenbrough and why he’d bring back The A-Team</p><p>I’ve got to talk about my new series here! For <strong>The Island</strong>, this time we’ve done a men’s series and a women’s series. And what happened in the women’s one blew my mind. I’ve just been sitting in the edit and that really is unmissable TV. I’m not telling my wife too much about it; I want to sit down and watch it with her. It blows gender stereotypes out of the water. What happens by the end is both humbling and inspiring.</p> <a href="/tv-and-radio/2015/mar/30/bear-grylls-favourite-tv">Continue reading...</a>TelevisionTelevision & radioCultureMon, 01 Dec 2014 12:01:05 GMT/tv-and-radio/2015/mar/30/bear-grylls-favourite-tvPhil Harrison2014-12-01T12:01:05ZHouse of Cards recap: season three, episodes 11, 12 and 13 – are the Underwoods undone?/tv-and-radio/tvandradioblog/2015/mar/02/house-of-cards-recap-season-three-episodes-11-12-and-13-are-the-underwoods-undone
<p>As one season closes, another is dangled teasingly in front of us. Frank is alone, Doug has done his foulest deed yet and the Democratic primary is hotting up</p><p>There is no such thing as closure. The seeming finale of a TV series, for instance, just tees up the next. So, after Claire Underwood told Frank “I’m leaving you” and made her magnificent exit from the White House, there was only temporary resolution; a false closure prompting all sorts of questions that can only be answered in season four.</p><p>Not that I’m complaining. I wasn’t looking forward to season three but much preferred its austere mood and gloomy visual and moral palette, to its more campily clamorous predecessors. There was much less of Kevin Spacey’s Frank Underwood appropriating <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ylu3x72WHTs">the tic of his mentor</a> – Ian Richardson in the British original – and mugging in a putatively wise-assed-manner to camera. The dearth of those asides certainly helped make this season less risible and self-satisfied than the first two. You may have liked Spacey’s mugging, but I couldn’t possibly agree.</p> <a href="/tv-and-radio/tvandradioblog/2015/mar/02/house-of-cards-recap-season-three-episodes-11-12-and-13-are-the-underwoods-undone">Continue reading...</a>House of CardsDramaTelevisionCultureTelevision & radioUS televisionSun, 01 Mar 2015 14:00:10 GMT/tv-and-radio/tvandradioblog/2015/mar/02/house-of-cards-recap-season-three-episodes-11-12-and-13-are-the-underwoods-undoneStuart Jeffries2015-03-01T14:00:10ZWolf Hall recap: episode six – a head on the block/tv-and-radio/tvandradioblog/2015/feb/25/wolf-hall-recap-episode-six-a-head-on-the-block
<p>Anne refuses to go quietly, and it is Cromwell who must carry out Henry’s dirtiest work yet in this unsettling conclusion to the series</p><p>With Wolf Hall’s final episode, Masters of Phantoms, we have a conclusion in which, as Scott put it <a href="http://www.walterscott.lib.ed.ac.uk/works/novels/waverley.html">at the end of Waverley</a>, nothing is concluded. With this adaptation, of course, there is the added complication that Hilary Mantel <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/books/2014/jan/16/hilary-mantel-new-book-no-thomas-cromwell">has yet to publish The Mirror and The Light</a>, the third part of her great historical romance. One looks forward to it with rather more eagerness than the newly announced <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/tvandradioblog/2015/feb/24/broadchurch-3-and-other-shows-that-outstayed-their-welcome">third series of Broadchurch</a>.</p><p>Cromwell has, over the years covered by the narrative, become less sympathetic. There is blood on his hands – a bucketful by the end of this episode. But, as ever, he evades any charge of being downright despicable (as, for example, Henry most certainly is). However shredded his scruples may be, Thomas Cromwell remains, in his own peculiar way, scrupulous. </p><p> <span>Related: </span><a href="http://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2015/feb/26/claire-foy-wolf-hall-perfect-anne-boleyn">Claire Foy: Wolf Hall's perfectly complex Anne Boleyn</a> </p><p>A certain wife can be unmade. But how?</p><p>The future history of England pivots on the lies of a foolish boy</p> <a href="/tv-and-radio/tvandradioblog/2015/feb/25/wolf-hall-recap-episode-six-a-head-on-the-block">Continue reading...</a>Wolf HallTelevisionTelevision & radioCultureWolf HallHistorical dramaDramaWed, 04 Feb 2015 11:46:29 GMT/tv-and-radio/tvandradioblog/2015/feb/25/wolf-hall-recap-episode-six-a-head-on-the-blockJohn Sutherland2015-02-04T11:46:29ZBroadchurch recap: season two finale – episode eight/tv-and-radio/2015/feb/23/broadchurch-recap-season-two-finale-episode-eight
<p>The acting was first rate, as all the loose ends were finally tied up – although perhaps not as neatly as some would have liked</p><p><em>Spoiler alert: this blog is for people watching <a href="http://preview.gutools.co.uk/tv-and-radio/broadchurch">Broadchurch</a> 2. Don’t read on if you haven’t seen episode eight</em><em>.</em></p><p><a href="http://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/tvandradioblog/2015/feb/16/broadchurch-recap-season-two-episode-seven-an-uneven-penultimate-episode">Catch up with our episode seven recap</a></p><p> <span>Related: </span><a href="http://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2015/feb/24/catastrophe-review-delightfully-blundering">Catastrophe review: a delightfully blundering final episode</a> </p> <a href="/tv-and-radio/2015/feb/23/broadchurch-recap-season-two-finale-episode-eight">Continue reading...</a>BroadchurchCrime dramaDramaTelevisionCultureTelevision & radioMon, 12 Jan 2015 15:38:03 GMT/tv-and-radio/2015/feb/23/broadchurch-recap-season-two-finale-episode-eightVicky Frost2015-01-12T15:38:03ZSpiral recap: season five, episodes 11 and 12 – a resolution, of sorts/tv-and-radio/2015/feb/14/spiral-recap-season-five-episodes-11-and-12-a-resolution-of-sorts
<p>There were plenty of thrills to end this season of the French drama – with Laure, Gilou, Joséphine and Roban ending the series in unexpected places<br></p><p><em>Spoiler alert: This blog contains spoilers for season five, episodes 11 and 12 of <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/spiral">Spiral</a>.</em></p><p><a href="http://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/tvandradioblog/2015/feb/07/spiral-recap-season-five-episodes-nine-and-10-an-unusually-violent-week">Catch up with the previous episode blog</a><a href="http://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/tvandradioblog/2013/mar/16/spiral-state-terror-series-four-episodes-11-12"><br /></a></p> <a href="/tv-and-radio/2015/feb/14/spiral-recap-season-five-episodes-11-and-12-a-resolution-of-sorts">Continue reading...</a>SpiralDramaTelevisionCultureTelevision & radioMon, 12 Jan 2015 15:38:03 GMT/tv-and-radio/2015/feb/14/spiral-recap-season-five-episodes-11-and-12-a-resolution-of-sortsVicky Frost2015-01-12T15:38:03ZHomeland recap: season four, episode 12 – Long Time Coming/tv-and-radio/tvandradioblog/2014/dec/28/homeland-recap-season-four-episode-12-finale-long-time-coming
<p>Whether you enjoyed this finale episode depends on what you expect from Homeland – but it was, without question, the best season since it began</p><p>Whether you felt satisfied with Long Time Coming will depend on what you wanted from a season finale of Homeland. If you expected the pyrotechnics of the past three seasons – assassination attempts, bombings, impromptu crane-based executions – well, you’re likely to be very disappointed indeed. But if you were just happy with something that provided some sort of emotional resolution while setting the show up for its fifth season, this did the job adequately enough. I’m just about in the latter camp, though with some reservations. Ultimately, Long Time Coming didn’t match its predecessors’ big finishes, but nor did it need to, given the trio of action-heavy episodes that preceded it. Instead, what we got was a brooding blue note, languidly (and at times soporifically) paced but still seismic in its implications for the series in the future. </p> <a href="/tv-and-radio/tvandradioblog/2014/dec/28/homeland-recap-season-four-episode-12-finale-long-time-coming">Continue reading...</a>HomelandDramaTelevisionCultureTelevision & radioUS televisionThu, 27 Nov 2014 19:52:29 GMT/tv-and-radio/tvandradioblog/2014/dec/28/homeland-recap-season-four-episode-12-finale-long-time-comingGwilym Mumford2014-11-27T19:52:29ZThe Fall recap: season two, episode six – an infuriating cop-out of an ending/tv-and-radio/tvandradioblog/2014/dec/18/the-fall-recap-season-two-episode-six-finale
<p>After all the tension, too many questions were left unanswered and those that were seemed contrived to leave the viewer hanging – and the possibility of another series</p><p>The finale in so many ways summed up season two of The Fall: moments of promise buried in a massive heap of storylines either too contrived to be believable, or introduced only to be discarded later. And while season two has largely failed to repeat the successes of The Fall’s first, much-acclaimed run, it very much replicated the disappointment of the first series’s finale – refusing to come to satisfactory conclusions in its desperation to leave the door open for a return to screen. It’s so infuriating for the viewer: if you’ve invested six-plus hours in watching a drama, the very least it can do is not leave you hanging for a year. (Or indeed, a great deal longer – despite Anderson saying she hopes there will be a third season, there’s been no announcement about a recommission.)<br /></p><p>And so we’re left with three characters clinging on to life: Rose Stagg, Paul Spector and Tom Anderson, while Katie’s fate is undecided. That seems pretty cynical storylining to me, but also undermines the idea that writer/director Alan Cubitt has taken great care to ensure the female victims in his story are not reduced to unnamed, disposable bodies. Rose’s torture and horror were used here purely as a plot device to allow that final cliffhanger – to give Spector his last powerplay and allow Jimmy to find him in the woods – which seems just as gratuitous to me. There was nothing in this finale that was about Rose: she existed only to allow us to find out more about Gibson and Spector (her guilt, his desire to reassure his daughter); even Rose’s discovery (and possible recovery) were immediately upstaged by Spector’s shooting.</p> <a href="/tv-and-radio/tvandradioblog/2014/dec/18/the-fall-recap-season-two-episode-six-finale">Continue reading...</a>The FallTelevisionTelevision & radioCultureDramaCrime dramaGillian AndersonThu, 27 Nov 2014 19:52:29 GMT/tv-and-radio/tvandradioblog/2014/dec/18/the-fall-recap-season-two-episode-six-finaleVicky Frost2014-11-27T19:52:29ZDoctor Who recap: Last Christmas/tv-and-radio/tvandradioblog/2014/dec/25/doctor-who-recap-last-christmas
<p>After last year’s overblown special, this one played to the show’s claustrophobic strengths – and was probably the most Christmassy Christmas special they’ve ever done</p><p>Merry Christmas! And how about that: probably the only story that will ever be told in which “and I woke up and it was all a dream” was not a lazy get-out but a miraculous fist-pump of a happy ending.</p> <a href="/tv-and-radio/tvandradioblog/2014/dec/25/doctor-who-recap-last-christmas">Continue reading...</a>Doctor WhoTelevision & radioTelevisionFantasyCultureThu, 27 Nov 2014 19:52:29 GMT/tv-and-radio/tvandradioblog/2014/dec/25/doctor-who-recap-last-christmasDan Martin2014-11-27T19:52:29ZDownton Abbey Christmas special recap – it worked as retro festive wallpaper/tv-and-radio/tvandradioblog/2014/dec/25/downton-abbey-christmas-special-recap-it-worked-as-retro-festive-wallpaper
<p>Beautifully shot and wonderfully acted, yet all a bit too overcomplicated and drawn out. It must be the Downton Christmas special!</p><p>The labrador’s backside is back for Christmas. And let’s hope it’s not just for Christmas, eh? Actually, my Christmas wish would be that it is just for Christmas. Because if this convoluted outing proved anything, it’s that this series has outstayed its welcome. Unlike Isis the dog, whose absence in this Christmas special finally disproved the conspiracy theory that she was just absent from the last episode to tease us. Sorry, people, but Isis really is dead.</p><p>As always this was a beautifully made and wonderfully acted confection showcasing all the shortcomings of the Downton Abbey brand. In the opening sequences, it felt as if the actors had been directed to speak the dialogue slowly and carefully in order to help viewers a) worse for the cooking sherry and b) unfamiliar with Downton (as probably many Christmas-only viewers were – lucky them). There was a lot of signposting of characters and history, which only served to flag up that there are often far too many people involved and far too many things going on.</p> <a href="/tv-and-radio/tvandradioblog/2014/dec/25/downton-abbey-christmas-special-recap-it-worked-as-retro-festive-wallpaper">Continue reading...</a>Downton AbbeyTelevision & radioPeriod dramaDramaCultureTelevisionThu, 27 Nov 2014 19:52:29 GMT/tv-and-radio/tvandradioblog/2014/dec/25/downton-abbey-christmas-special-recap-it-worked-as-retro-festive-wallpaperViv Groskop2014-11-27T19:52:29ZPeaky Blinders recap: series two, episode six – what a finale!/tv-and-radio/tvandradioblog/2014/nov/06/peaky-blinders-recap-series-two-episode-six-what-a-finale
<p>Packed with revelations, this was Peaky Blinders at its best – a gut-wrenching and beautifully directed climax</p><p>What. A. Finale. I’ve really enjoyed this season, bloodthirsty though it has been, and this was a fitting end, a nail-biting, action-packed hour of tension that had me screaming at the screen more than once as Tommy Shelby’s long-promised Derby day of reckoning finally arrived.<br /></p><p>And what a day it was, packed with revelations (Alfie is double-crossing Sabini! Grace is pregnant! May is definitely not to be messed with!) and filled with casualties both deserved (goodbye Major Campbell, may your red right hand guide you to hell) and tragic (oh, Lizzy, it’ll be a long, cold day before I forgive Tommy for using you in this way). The odd clunky moment apart – I may stand alone but the scene when Grace revealed her pregnancy left me cold – this was Peaky Blinders at its best, a gut-wrenching and beautifully directed climax, which was not always easy to watch but which left me, like May a few weeks ago, exhausted but begging for more. </p> <a href="/tv-and-radio/tvandradioblog/2014/nov/06/peaky-blinders-recap-series-two-episode-six-what-a-finale">Continue reading...</a>Peaky BlindersTelevisionTelevision & radioCultureDramaPeriod dramaBBC2Thu, 27 Nov 2014 19:52:29 GMT/tv-and-radio/tvandradioblog/2014/nov/06/peaky-blinders-recap-series-two-episode-six-what-a-finaleSarah Hughes2014-11-27T19:52:29ZThe week in radio: The Russell Brand Podcast; Love + Radio; Afternoon Drama: Monster; Soho Radiohttp://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2015/mar/29/week-radio-russell-brand-podcast-soho-radio-monster-afternoon-drama
Russell Brand, in a new podcast, only has to open his mouth and it works. Elsewhere, the drama was beautifully crafted <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2015/mar/29/week-radio-russell-brand-podcast-soho-radio-monster-afternoon-drama">Continue reading...</a>RadioRussell BrandPodcastingTelevision & radioInternetDigital mediaMediaCultureSun, 29 Mar 2015 06:00:15 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2015/mar/29/week-radio-russell-brand-podcast-soho-radio-monster-afternoon-dramaMiranda Sawyer2015-03-29T06:00:15ZThe week in TV: Coalition; Outlander; Inside No 9; Teens; The Royalshttp://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2015/mar/29/coalition-drama-review-outlander-caitriona-balfe-inside-no-9-reece-shearsmith-royals-hurley
James Graham’s drama about the last general election rang uncannily true. Elsewhere, fantasy carried the day, from time-travel drama to implausible Royals <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2015/mar/29/coalition-drama-review-outlander-caitriona-balfe-inside-no-9-reece-shearsmith-royals-hurley">Continue reading...</a>DramaComedyDocumentaryFantasyThe League of GentlemenGame of ThronesTelevision & radioTelevisionElizabeth HurleyChannel 4BBC2Nick CleggDavid CameronGordon BrownPeter MandelsonPoliticsCultureSun, 29 Mar 2015 06:00:09 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2015/mar/29/coalition-drama-review-outlander-caitriona-balfe-inside-no-9-reece-shearsmith-royals-hurleyEuan Ferguson2015-03-29T06:00:09ZCouples review – a parade of hysterical eccentrics that’s a joy from start to finishhttp://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2015/mar/26/couples-julia-davis-marc-wootton-review
Surreal and disturbed meets goading and diabolical as Julia Davis and Marc Wootton play a series of couples in therapy <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2015/mar/26/couples-julia-davis-marc-wootton-review">Continue reading...</a>Julia DavisRadio comedyRadioTelevision & radioComedyCultureThu, 26 Mar 2015 16:00:07 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2015/mar/26/couples-julia-davis-marc-wootton-reviewPriya Elan2015-03-26T16:00:07ZBig Time In Hollywood, FL: just enough delusion to performhttp://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2015/mar/24/big-time-hollywood-fl-just-enough-delusion-to-perform
<p>Comedy Central’s new series takes the well-worn ‘losers in Hollywood’ trope and makes it work by taking the character’s self-obsession to another level </p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2015/mar/24/big-time-hollywood-fl-just-enough-delusion-to-perform">Continue reading...</a>US televisionTelevisionCultureTelevision & radioFilm industryWed, 25 Mar 2015 03:30:00 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2015/mar/24/big-time-hollywood-fl-just-enough-delusion-to-performAnne T Donahue2015-03-25T03:30:00ZRuPaul's Drag Race recap: season seven, episode four – Spoof!http://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2015/mar/24/rupauls-drag-race-recap-season-seven-episode-four-spoof
<p>This week RuPaul asked group to get ‘Punny or die’ when creating parody songs, one of which looked like ‘a camp impersonation of Myra Breckinridge casting a spell on a demon’</p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2015/mar/24/rupauls-drag-race-recap-season-seven-episode-four-spoof">Continue reading...</a>US televisionTelevisionCultureTue, 24 Mar 2015 15:31:25 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2015/mar/24/rupauls-drag-race-recap-season-seven-episode-four-spoofMegan Carpentier and Brian Moylan2015-03-24T15:31:25ZBetter Call Saul recap: season one, episode eight – Ricohttp://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/tvandradioblog/2015/mar/24/better-call-saul-recap-season-one-episode-eight-rico
<p>With just two episodes to go, Jimmy gets wind of a scam that could turn into a big case, we get some background on his animosity towards Howard Hamlin, and something seems to have changed in Chuck</p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/tvandradioblog/2015/mar/24/better-call-saul-recap-season-one-episode-eight-rico">Continue reading...</a>Better Call SaulTelevisionUS televisionTue, 24 Mar 2015 12:56:38 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/tvandradioblog/2015/mar/24/better-call-saul-recap-season-one-episode-eight-ricoRichard Vine2015-03-24T12:56:38ZThe Mafia with Trevor McDonald review – there’s little glamour in being an ex-mobsterhttp://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2015/mar/24/the-mafia-with-trevor-mcdonald-review
These former crime bosses had been through jail and betrayal. Now they were sad, friendless, fearful – and terrifically bored <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2015/mar/24/the-mafia-with-trevor-mcdonald-review">Continue reading...</a>TelevisionTelevision & radioCultureDocumentaryFactual TVTue, 24 Mar 2015 07:00:06 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2015/mar/24/the-mafia-with-trevor-mcdonald-reviewTim Dowling2015-03-24T07:00:06ZLouis Theroux: By Reason of Insanity review – Louis really doesn’t look out of place in a psychiatric hospitalhttp://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2015/mar/23/louis-theroux-by-reason-of-insanity-psychiatric-hospital-review
Theroux is on the hunt for stories – and they are some stories! His film gives a genuine insight into mental illness <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2015/mar/23/louis-theroux-by-reason-of-insanity-psychiatric-hospital-review">Continue reading...</a>Louis TherouxMental healthHealthSocietyTelevisionTelevision & radioCultureMon, 23 Mar 2015 08:32:08 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2015/mar/23/louis-theroux-by-reason-of-insanity-psychiatric-hospital-reviewSam Wollaston2015-03-23T08:32:08ZComedy Central stands by new Daily Show host Trevor Noahhttp://www.theguardian.com/culture/2015/mar/31/comedy-central-stands-by-trevor-noah-controversy-twitter
<p>Network dispels speculation that it might be considering replacing Noah after a series of controversial jokes from before his appointment were uncovered </p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/culture/2015/mar/31/comedy-central-stands-by-trevor-noah-controversy-twitter">Continue reading...</a>Trevor NoahCultureComedyUS televisionTelevisionTelevision & radioJon StewartMediaTue, 31 Mar 2015 20:05:38 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/culture/2015/mar/31/comedy-central-stands-by-trevor-noah-controversy-twitterLauren Gambino in New York2015-03-31T20:05:38ZThunderbirds are go as TV series returns with a makeover after 50 yearshttp://www.theguardian.com/media/2015/mar/31/thunderbirds-are-go-as-tv-series-returns-with-a-makeover-after-50-years
<p>ITV’s take on children’s favourite blends computer animation with models and miniature sets – and even the original voice of Parker is coming back<br></p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/media/2015/mar/31/thunderbirds-are-go-as-tv-series-returns-with-a-makeover-after-50-years">Continue reading...</a>ITV channelTelevisionChildren's TVCultureMediaTelevision & radioUK newsRosamund PikeTue, 31 Mar 2015 19:00:21 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/media/2015/mar/31/thunderbirds-are-go-as-tv-series-returns-with-a-makeover-after-50-yearsJohn Plunkett2015-03-31T19:00:21ZNew press regulation regime is ‘business as usual’, says Lord Puttnamhttp://www.theguardian.com/media/2015/mar/31/new-press-regulation-regime-is-business-as-usual-says-labour-peer
<p>Labour peer criticises lack of progress under Ipso and says David Cameron ‘bottled’ chance to take on media barons</p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/media/2015/mar/31/new-press-regulation-regime-is-business-as-usual-says-labour-peer">Continue reading...</a>Press regulationMediaNewspapers & magazinesIpsoUK newsBBCChannel 4Television industryLeveson inquiryTue, 31 Mar 2015 19:00:03 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/media/2015/mar/31/new-press-regulation-regime-is-business-as-usual-says-labour-peerJasper Jackson2015-03-31T19:00:03ZDaily Show's Trevor Noah under fire for Twitter jokes about Jews and womenhttp://www.theguardian.com/culture/2015/mar/31/trevor-noah-backlash-highlights-jokes-jews-women
<p>The newly tapped host has been criticised for controversial tweets from past that some feel are out of step with the tone of the satirical news program</p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/culture/2015/mar/31/trevor-noah-backlash-highlights-jokes-jews-women">Continue reading...</a>Trevor NoahComedy CentralTwitterCultureMediaTechnologyUS televisionTelevision industryTue, 31 Mar 2015 18:05:42 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/culture/2015/mar/31/trevor-noah-backlash-highlights-jokes-jews-womenLauren Gambino in New York2015-03-31T18:05:42ZAl-Jazeera calls for release of two journalists held in Nigeriahttp://www.theguardian.com/media/2015/mar/31/al-jazeera-calls-for-release-of-two-journalists-held-in-nigeria
<p>Ahmed Idris and Ali Mustafa were detained while in Borno state reporting on fighting between government forces and Islamist rebels Boko Haram</p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/media/2015/mar/31/al-jazeera-calls-for-release-of-two-journalists-held-in-nigeria">Continue reading...</a>Al-JazeeraJournalist safetyMediaTV newsTelevision industryNigeriaBoko HaramWorld newsTue, 31 Mar 2015 16:27:21 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/media/2015/mar/31/al-jazeera-calls-for-release-of-two-journalists-held-in-nigeriaJasper Jackson2015-03-31T16:27:21ZNew York Daily News to receive $1 buyout offer from Cablevisionhttp://www.theguardian.com/media/2015/mar/31/new-york-daily-news-cablevision-1-dollar
<ul><li>Bid considers tabloid’s $3m annual loss and declining circulation</li><li>Owner Mortimer Zuckerman put newspaper on market last month</li></ul> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/media/2015/mar/31/new-york-daily-news-cablevision-1-dollar">Continue reading...</a>MediaNewspapers & magazinesNewspapersNew YorkUS newsTelevision industryTue, 31 Mar 2015 13:55:45 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/media/2015/mar/31/new-york-daily-news-cablevision-1-dollarReuters2015-03-31T13:55:45ZBBC's Andy Wilman tries to salvage unused Top Gear footagehttp://www.theguardian.com/media/2015/mar/31/bbc-andy-wilman-top-gear-jeremy-clarkson
<p>Show’s executive producer – who has rejected reports he has quit – understood to be working with BBC2 chief in wake of Jeremy Clarkson’s departure<br></p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/media/2015/mar/31/bbc-andy-wilman-top-gear-jeremy-clarkson">Continue reading...</a>BBCJeremy ClarksonTelevision industryMediaTop GearFactual TVTelevisionTelevision & radioCultureUK newsTue, 31 Mar 2015 12:56:25 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/media/2015/mar/31/bbc-andy-wilman-top-gear-jeremy-clarksonJohn Plunkett2015-03-31T12:56:25ZThe grey knight: Burt Ward and Adam West announce animated Batman filmhttp://www.theguardian.com/film/2015/mar/31/the-grey-knight-burt-ward-and-adam-west-announce-animated-batman-film
<p>Stars of the 1960s TV show reveal they will be voicing the comic-book characters for a forthcoming feature-length animation</p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/film/2015/mar/31/the-grey-knight-burt-ward-and-adam-west-announce-animated-batman-film">Continue reading...</a>Superhero moviesBatmanCultureFilmDC ComicsAnimationTelevisionTelevision & radioTue, 31 Mar 2015 11:48:47 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/film/2015/mar/31/the-grey-knight-burt-ward-and-adam-west-announce-animated-batman-filmBen Child2015-03-31T11:48:47ZDavid Cameron to speak last in seven-way leaders’ debatehttp://www.theguardian.com/media/2015/mar/31/david-cameron-to-speak-last-in-seven-way-leaders-debate
<p>Green party’s Natalie Bennett will speak first in only head-to-head debate of general election followed by Ukip leader Nigel Farage</p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/media/2015/mar/31/david-cameron-to-speak-last-in-seven-way-leaders-debate">Continue reading...</a>ITV channelITV plcMediaTelevision industryUK newsPoliticsLeaders' debatesTue, 31 Mar 2015 10:43:42 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/media/2015/mar/31/david-cameron-to-speak-last-in-seven-way-leaders-debateJohn Plunkett and agencies2015-03-31T10:43:42ZBBC drama chief Ben Stephenson joins JJ Abrams' Bad Robothttp://www.theguardian.com/media/2015/mar/31/bbc-drama-chief-ben-stephenson-jj-abrams-bad-robot
<p>Executive responsible for shows including Sherlock, Call the Midwife and Wolf Hall to leave corporation after 11 years<br></p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/media/2015/mar/31/bbc-drama-chief-ben-stephenson-jj-abrams-bad-robot">Continue reading...</a>Ben StephensonBBCTelevision industryMediaDramaTelevisionTelevision & radioJJ AbramsFilmTue, 31 Mar 2015 10:12:27 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/media/2015/mar/31/bbc-drama-chief-ben-stephenson-jj-abrams-bad-robotJohn Plunkett2015-03-31T10:12:27ZBBC's Victoria Derbyshire 'fine' after bullying rowhttp://www.theguardian.com/media/2015/mar/31/bbcs-victoria-derbyshire-fine-after-bullying-row
<p>Broadcaster says that her family have ‘moved on’ after her partner successfully appealed against his dismissal</p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/media/2015/mar/31/bbcs-victoria-derbyshire-fine-after-bullying-row">Continue reading...</a>BBCRadio industryTelevision industryMediaVictoria DerbyshireTelevisionRadioTelevision & radioCultureUK newsTue, 31 Mar 2015 09:28:38 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/media/2015/mar/31/bbcs-victoria-derbyshire-fine-after-bullying-rowPress Association2015-03-31T09:28:38ZAndy Wilman's email to BBC Top Gear colleagues - full texthttp://www.theguardian.com/media/2015/mar/31/andy-wilman-email-bbc-top-gear-jeremy-clarkson
<p>Read the email from Jeremy Clarkson’s executive producer looking back at ‘one of the most iconic programmes in TV history’</p><p><a href="http://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2015/mar/31/top-gear-producer-andy-wilman-quits-in-wake-of-jeremy-clarkson-sacking"> Top Gear’s Andy Wilman tells staff ‘au revoir’ after Jeremy Clarkson exit </a></p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/media/2015/mar/31/andy-wilman-email-bbc-top-gear-jeremy-clarkson">Continue reading...</a>BBCJeremy ClarksonTelevision industryMediaTop GearTelevisionTelevision & radioCultureUK newsTue, 31 Mar 2015 08:53:52 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/media/2015/mar/31/andy-wilman-email-bbc-top-gear-jeremy-clarksonGuardian Staff2015-03-31T08:53:52ZHelen Mirren: it's difficult for women to earn a living in film and TVhttp://www.theguardian.com/media/2015/mar/31/helen-mirren-women-film-tv
<p>Oscar-winning star of The Queen also says she intends to stop working – and admits she still has to combat stage fright</p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/media/2015/mar/31/helen-mirren-women-film-tv">Continue reading...</a>MediaTelevision industryHelen MirrenFilmTelevisionTelevision & radioCultureUK newsTheatreStageTue, 31 Mar 2015 06:39:47 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/media/2015/mar/31/helen-mirren-women-film-tvDugald Baird and agencies2015-03-31T06:39:47ZStephen Poliakoff's new BBC drama focuses on postwar intriguehttp://www.theguardian.com/media/2015/mar/31/stephen-poliakoff-bbc-drama-close-to-the-enemy
<p>Close to the Enemy, starring Jim Sturgess and Inglourious Basterds’ August Diehl, will be set in the background of the emerging Cold War </p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/media/2015/mar/31/stephen-poliakoff-bbc-drama-close-to-the-enemy">Continue reading...</a>BBCBBC2Television industryMediaUK newsStephen PoliakoffCultureTue, 31 Mar 2015 06:10:39 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/media/2015/mar/31/stephen-poliakoff-bbc-drama-close-to-the-enemyJohn Plunkett2015-03-31T06:10:39ZStan Lee creates superhero for Sky1 series starring James Nesbitthttp://www.theguardian.com/media/2015/mar/31/stan-lee-creates-superhero-for-sky1-series-starring-james-nesbitt
<p>Lucky Man will feature a detective who can control luck in first UK television drama by comic book legend behind Iron Man, Spider-Man and the X-Men</p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/media/2015/mar/31/stan-lee-creates-superhero-for-sky1-series-starring-james-nesbitt">Continue reading...</a>Sky1MediaSky plcTelevision industryTelevisionCultureTelevision & radioUK newsMon, 30 Mar 2015 23:01:01 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/media/2015/mar/31/stan-lee-creates-superhero-for-sky1-series-starring-james-nesbittJohn Plunkett2015-03-30T23:01:01ZMusic rules the airwaves as French radio journalists' strike stretches onhttp://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/mar/30/music-rules-the-airwaves-as-french-radio-journalists-strike-stretches-on
<p>Union members from the public service broadcaster downed tools on 19 March because of disputes about budgets and job security</p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/mar/30/music-rules-the-airwaves-as-french-radio-journalists-strike-stretches-on">Continue reading...</a>FranceEuropeWorld newsMediaUnionsRadioCultureMon, 30 Mar 2015 18:00:47 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/mar/30/music-rules-the-airwaves-as-french-radio-journalists-strike-stretches-onKim Willsher in Paris2015-03-30T18:00:47ZMedia regulator issues new guidelines on young people on TV and radiohttp://www.theguardian.com/media/2015/mar/30/media-regulator-issues-new-guidelines-on-young-people-on-tv-and-radio
<p>Broadcasters must take into account effect of social media bullying and consult with children and families before going into production, Ofcom says</p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/media/2015/mar/30/media-regulator-issues-new-guidelines-on-young-people-on-tv-and-radio">Continue reading...</a>OfcomMediaTelevision industrySocial mediaDigital mediaUK newsMon, 30 Mar 2015 16:34:15 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/media/2015/mar/30/media-regulator-issues-new-guidelines-on-young-people-on-tv-and-radioJasper Jackson2015-03-30T16:34:15ZHobbit star Martin Freeman appears in Labour election broadcasthttp://www.theguardian.com/politics/2015/mar/30/hobbit-star-martin-freeman-appears-in-labour-election-broadcast
<p>Actor joins former Doctor Who star David Tennant in endorsing Ed Miliband for prime minister on first day of election campaign</p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2015/mar/30/hobbit-star-martin-freeman-appears-in-labour-election-broadcast">Continue reading...</a>General election 2015PoliticsLabourMartin FreemanDavid TennantCultureTelevisionFilmUK newsMon, 30 Mar 2015 15:48:25 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/politics/2015/mar/30/hobbit-star-martin-freeman-appears-in-labour-election-broadcastRowena Mason Political correspondent2015-03-30T15:48:25ZRaised By Wolves, Britain's Racist Election, Back In Time For Dinner and more: TV review – videohttp://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/video/2015/mar/24/raised-by-wolves-britains-racist-election-tv-review-video
This week, telly addict Andrew Collins fails to be starstruck by coverage of the eclipse; applauds Raised By Wolves for being a hymn to the West Midlands, even if it is wilfully annoying; winces at 1960s race relations in Britain's Racist Election on C4; wonders if there is a more middle-class comedy than In and Out of the Kitchen on BBC4; puts up with the privations of Back in Time For Dinner on BBC2; and doesn't buy the lie in drama Ordinary Lies on BBC1. Now, back to that eclipse ... <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/video/2015/mar/24/raised-by-wolves-britains-racist-election-tv-review-video">Continue reading...</a>Television & radioTue, 24 Mar 2015 08:54:02 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/video/2015/mar/24/raised-by-wolves-britains-racist-election-tv-review-videoAndrew Collins and Mona Mahmood2015-03-24T08:54:02ZPoldark, Nurse, Togetherness, and more: TV review – videohttp://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/video/2015/mar/17/poldark-nurse-togetherness-tv-review-video
This week, telly addict <strong>Andrew Collins</strong> bets his breeches on BBC1's high-def remake of Poldark; finds deep sadness in Paul Whitehouse's latest latex-indebted comedy Nurse on BBC2; salutes the endings of two moving shows, HBO's laugh-free comedy Togetherness and Reginald D Hunter's Songs Of The South on BBC2; makes an iPlayer recommendation for people-at-work civil engineering doc The Fifteen Billion Pound Railway; and some championship HBO swearing from satirist John Oliver<br /><br /><strong>• WARNING: STRONG LANGUAGE</strong> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/video/2015/mar/17/poldark-nurse-togetherness-tv-review-video">Continue reading...</a>Television & radioTue, 17 Mar 2015 08:42:29 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/video/2015/mar/17/poldark-nurse-togetherness-tv-review-videoAndrew Collins and Mona Mahmood2015-03-17T08:42:29ZCritical, Wolf Hall, The World at War, The Great Painting Challenge and others: TV review – videohttp://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/video/2015/mar/03/critical-wolf-hall-world-war-great-painting-challenge-tv-review-video
This week, telly addict <strong>Andrew Collins</strong> checks his pulse and wheels himself into new, real-time medical trauma drama Critical on Sky1; laments the end of Mark Rylance's face-acting in the sublime Wolf Hall on BBC2; celebrates Laurence Olivier's pronunciation on The World At War; watches acrylic dry with The Great Painting Challenge on BBC1; and enjoys the ride with Reginald D Hunter for Songs Of The South on BBC2. There's also room for a bit of Gogglebox<br /><br />• <strong>WARNING: contains offensive language</strong> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/video/2015/mar/03/critical-wolf-hall-world-war-great-painting-challenge-tv-review-video">Continue reading...</a>Television & radioTue, 03 Mar 2015 11:09:56 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/video/2015/mar/03/critical-wolf-hall-world-war-great-painting-challenge-tv-review-videoAndrew Collins and Mona Mahmood2015-03-03T11:09:56ZThe Casual Vacancy, Indian Summers, The World at War and others: TV review – videohttp://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/video/2015/feb/24/casual-vacancy-indian-summers-tv-review-video
This week, telly addict <strong>Andrew Collins</strong> risks being caught in the crossfire of the Sunday night TV ratings war between JK Rowling's social satire The Casual Vacancy on BBC1 and its dramatic enemy Indian Summers on C4 at the same time; also, an actual war in a welcome repeat of 70s landmark documentary series The World at War on BBC2; the 30th anniversary live week of EastEnders on BBC1; a documentary about immigrants and benefits that provides food for thought, The Romanians Are Coming on C4; and the triumphant return of Gogglebox on C4 for its fifth series of armchair TV criticism <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/video/2015/feb/24/casual-vacancy-indian-summers-tv-review-video">Continue reading...</a>Television & radioTue, 24 Feb 2015 10:57:33 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/video/2015/feb/24/casual-vacancy-indian-summers-tv-review-videoAndrew Collins and Mona Mahmood2015-02-24T10:57:33ZThe Walking Dead, Better Call Saul, The Daily Show, Last Week Tonight and Uncle: TV review – videohttp://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/video/2015/feb/17/walking-dead-better-call-saul-daily-show-tv-review-video
This week, telly addict Andrew Collins gets behind the sofa for the mid-season return of AMC's zombie saga The Walking Dead to Fox; finds himself a sucker for Breaking Bad spin-off Better Call Saul, on Netflix; bemoans the resignation of Jon Stewart from Comedy Central's The Daily Show, and compares him to former protégé John Oliver, whose breakaway show Last Week Tonight returned to Sky Atlantic; and welcomes back surprisingly warm and avuncular BBC3 sitcom Uncle <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/video/2015/feb/17/walking-dead-better-call-saul-daily-show-tv-review-video">Continue reading...</a>Television & radioTue, 17 Feb 2015 08:51:45 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/video/2015/feb/17/walking-dead-better-call-saul-daily-show-tv-review-videoAndrew Collins and Mona Mahmood2015-02-17T08:51:45ZFortitude; Bitter Lake; The Good Wife; Suits; and Catastrophe: TV review – videohttp://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/video/2015/feb/03/fortitude-bitter-lake-good-wife-suits-catastrophe-tv-review-video
This week, telly addict Andrew Collins braves the cold of big-name, British-made Nordic thriller Fortitude on Sky Atlantic; lauds Adam Curtis's BBC iPlayer-only mega-doc Bitter Lake; welcomes the return of two glossy legal dramas from the US, season six of The Good Wife on More4 and season four of Suits on Dave; and gives a nod to the sweet soul of sexually frank comedy Catastrophe. Plus: some bunnies from a BBC1 pets documentary<br /><br /><strong>• WARNING: STRONG LANGUAGE</strong> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/video/2015/feb/03/fortitude-bitter-lake-good-wife-suits-catastrophe-tv-review-video">Continue reading...</a>Television & radioLife and styleTue, 03 Feb 2015 10:20:38 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/video/2015/feb/03/fortitude-bitter-lake-good-wife-suits-catastrophe-tv-review-videoAndrew Collins and Mona Mahmood2015-02-03T10:20:38ZWolf Hall, Cucumber, The Eichmann Show, Sound of Song: TV review – videohttp://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/video/2015/jan/27/wolf-hall-cucumber-banana-eichmann-show-sound-song-tv-video-review
Telly addict Andrew Collins weighs up Hilary Mantel's Wolf Hall on BBC2; the return of Russell T Davies to Manchester's Canal Street in Cucumber on C4; docudrama The Eichmann Show on BBC2; the return of musicologist Neil Brand with Sound Of Song on BBC4; and The Daily Show after Barack Obama's State Of The Union address<br /><br />• <strong>WARNING: SEXUALLY EXPLICIT CONTENT</strong> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/video/2015/jan/27/wolf-hall-cucumber-banana-eichmann-show-sound-song-tv-video-review">Continue reading...</a>Wolf HallCultureTelevisionTelevision & radioWolf HallTue, 27 Jan 2015 10:00:00 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/video/2015/jan/27/wolf-hall-cucumber-banana-eichmann-show-sound-song-tv-video-reviewPresented by Andrew Collins2015-01-27T10:00:00ZAscension, Girls, Togetherness, Spiral: TV review — videohttp://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/video/2015/jan/20/ascension-girls-togetherness-spiral-tv-review-video
This week, telly addict Andrew Collins goes boldly beyond terrestrial and lands on Battlestar-like sci-fi saga Ascension on Sky1; nods approvingly to the return of HBO's Girls to Sky Atlantic; but sings from the rooftops about HBO's new mumblecore sitcom Togetherness; back on ITV, it's Mel &amp; Sue in live daytime chatshow mode; plus the return of gritty French procedural Spiral to BBC4; and a glimpse of the calm before the Twitterstorm on C4's Cyberbully <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/video/2015/jan/20/ascension-girls-togetherness-spiral-tv-review-video">Continue reading...</a>TelevisionTelevision & radioGirlsTue, 20 Jan 2015 10:00:00 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/video/2015/jan/20/ascension-girls-togetherness-spiral-tv-review-videoPresented by Andrew Collins2015-01-20T10:00:00ZBroadchurch, Silent Witness, Foyle's War, The Super-Rich and Us: TV review – videohttp://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/video/2015/jan/13/broadchurch-silent-witness-foyles-war-tv-review-video
Telly addict Andrew Collins looks at three returning drama-juggernauts: habit-forming Dorset post-whodunit Broadchurch on ITV; forensic procedural Silent Witness, back for its 18th series on BBC1; and period case-solver Foyle's War on ITV. He also reviews, from BBC2's Super-Rich season, two rewarding docs, The Super-Rich and Me and Rich, Russian and Living In London; plus, those calming new BBC1 idents at a turbulent time <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/video/2015/jan/13/broadchurch-silent-witness-foyles-war-tv-review-video">Continue reading...</a>BroadchurchBBCITV channelMediaTelevisionTelevision & radioTue, 13 Jan 2015 10:00:00 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/video/2015/jan/13/broadchurch-silent-witness-foyles-war-tv-review-videoAndrew Collins2015-01-13T10:00:00ZMapp & Lucia, Downton Abbey, Miranda, The Wrong Mans: TV review – videohttp://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/video/2015/jan/06/mapp-lucia-downton-abbey-miranda-the-wrong-mans-tv-review-video
Telly addict<strong> Andrew Collins</strong> returns from the seasonal break with a catch-up from the end of 2014: a sparkling new Mapp &amp; Lucia on BBC1; a disappointing Downton Abbey on ITV; the end of two comedies, Miranda on BBC1 and The Wrong Mans on BBC2; plus honourable mentions to Snow Wolf Family and Me on BBC1; continuing Danish saga The Legacy on Sky Arts; and Charlie Brooker's 2014 Wipe on BBC2 <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/video/2015/jan/06/mapp-lucia-downton-abbey-miranda-the-wrong-mans-tv-review-video">Continue reading...</a>Downton AbbeyTelevisionTelevision & radioTue, 06 Jan 2015 10:00:00 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/video/2015/jan/06/mapp-lucia-downton-abbey-miranda-the-wrong-mans-tv-review-videoPresented by Andrew Collins2015-01-06T10:00:00ZTelly addict Christmas special: the best TV of 2014 - videohttp://www.theguardian.com/global/video/2014/dec/23/telly-addict-christmas-best-of-2014-video
This week, telly addict Andrew Collins looks back over the year in TV: the scandals, the series finales, the stars, the strops, the Scandi influences, the scenery and the speeches. He also reviews his top three shows of 2014, and reveals his channel of the year <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/global/video/2014/dec/23/telly-addict-christmas-best-of-2014-video">Continue reading...</a>TelevisionTelevision & radioGame of ThronesPeaky BlindersTue, 23 Dec 2014 10:43:00 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/global/video/2014/dec/23/telly-addict-christmas-best-of-2014-videoPresented by Andrew Collins2014-12-23T10:43:00ZArthur & George, Banished, Drugs Live and Moone Boy: TV review - videohttp://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/video/2015/mar/10/arthur-george-banished-drugs-live-moone-boy-tv-review-video
This week, telly addict Andrew Collins makes a case for Arthur &amp; George, a surrogate Sherlock Holmes mystery starring Martin Clunes on ITV; finds himself transported to 18th century Australia for gutsy Jimmy McGovern costume drama Banished; just says no to Drugs Live: The Cannabis Trial on C4 with Jon Snow; and delights in the return of Moone Boy to Sky1, Chris O'Dowd's comedy for kids, for adults <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/video/2015/mar/10/arthur-george-banished-drugs-live-moone-boy-tv-review-video">Continue reading...</a>Television & radioTue, 10 Mar 2015 08:59:00 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/video/2015/mar/10/arthur-george-banished-drugs-live-moone-boy-tv-review-videoAndrew Collins and Mona Mahmood2015-03-10T08:59:00ZInside the Commons, Wolf Hall, Churchill, Mr Selfridge, Alaska: Earth's Frozen Kingdom, Looking and Pets: Wild at Heart: TV review – videohttp://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/video/2015/feb/10/inside-commons-wolf-hall-churchill-mr-selfridge-tv-review-video
This week, telly addict Andrew Collins goes Inside the Commons on BBC2 to see what a broken mainstream political democracy looks like; pops back into Wolf Hall for comparison; praises a repeat of the 1992 series Churchill; defends the melodramatic Mr Selfridge on ITV; falls back in love with HBO's Looking, on Sky Atlantic; and finds animal Zen in two BBC nature docs, Alaska: Earth's Frozen Kingdom and Pets: Wild at Heart <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/video/2015/feb/10/inside-commons-wolf-hall-churchill-mr-selfridge-tv-review-video">Continue reading...</a>Television & radioTue, 10 Feb 2015 10:48:00 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/video/2015/feb/10/inside-commons-wolf-hall-churchill-mr-selfridge-tv-review-videoAndrew Collins and Mona Mahmood2015-02-10T10:48:00ZThe Lost Honour of Christopher Jefferies, Brian Pern: A Life In Rock and more: TV review - videohttp://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/video/2014/dec/16/lost-honour-of-christopher-jefferies-brian-pern-life-in-rock-story-marshall-amp-vide
Telly addict Andrew Collins on a late contender for feature-length drama of the year, a rock-doc spoof, a rich helping of Jamie's Cracking Christmas on C4 and Gogglebox do a Taken <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/video/2014/dec/16/lost-honour-of-christopher-jefferies-brian-pern-life-in-rock-story-marshall-amp-vide">Continue reading...</a>TelevisionTelevision & radioJamie OliverCultureTue, 16 Dec 2014 10:46:13 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/video/2014/dec/16/lost-honour-of-christopher-jefferies-brian-pern-life-in-rock-story-marshall-amp-videPresented by Andrew Collins2014-12-16T10:46:13ZLife Story, Skint, Posh People: Inside Tatler, The Mekong River: TV review – videohttp://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/video/2014/dec/09/life-story-skint-posh-people-inside-tatler-mekong-river-tv-review-video
This week telly addict Andrew Collins catches up with some factual programmes in the lull before Christmas, enjoying another miracle from the BBC's Natural History Unit with the David Attenborough-narrated Life Story; finding more life and hope in C4's Grimsby-set, breadline documentary Skint than in BBC2's Posh People: Inside Tatler, where working at a magazine becomes a joyless finishing-school; and belatedly hopping aboard Sue Perkins' thoughtful and candid travelogue The Mekong River<br /><br /><strong>WARNING: STRONG LANGUAGE</strong> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/video/2014/dec/09/life-story-skint-posh-people-inside-tatler-mekong-river-tv-review-video">Continue reading...</a>Television & radioTue, 09 Dec 2014 10:00:00 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/video/2014/dec/09/life-story-skint-posh-people-inside-tatler-mekong-river-tv-review-videoPresented by Andrew Collins2014-12-09T10:00:00ZThe Legacy, Tomorrow's Worlds, Remember Me, Stalker: TV review – videohttp://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/video/2014/dec/03/legacy-tomorrows-worlds-remember-me-stalker-tv-review-video
This week, telly addict Andrew Collins reaches for his Ibsen pass notes to praise the latest Danish import, The Legacy, on Sky Arts; enjoys the geeky trip aboard Tomorrow's Worlds: The Unearthly History of Science Fiction on BBC2; discovers he's not afraid of ghosts during BBC1's new supernatural drama, Remember Me with Michael Palin; and feels slightly uncomfortable hanging around Stalker, a new slick, women-in-peril procedural from CBS, showing on Sky Living <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/video/2014/dec/03/legacy-tomorrows-worlds-remember-me-stalker-tv-review-video">Continue reading...</a>Michael PalinScience fiction and fantasyWed, 03 Dec 2014 10:00:00 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/video/2014/dec/03/legacy-tomorrows-worlds-remember-me-stalker-tv-review-videoPresented by Andrew Collins2014-12-03T10:00:00ZRipper Street, I'm A Celebrity, It Was Alright in the 70s and Scot Squad: TV review – videohttp://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/video/2014/nov/25/ripper-street-im-a-celebrity-alright-70s-scot-squad-tv-review-video
This week, telly addict Andrew Collins applauds the reprieve of Ripper Street, cancelled by BBC1 but saved by Amazon Prime Instant Video; lasts less than one episode of I'm a Celebrity … Get Me Out of Here on ITV; dares to put one enlightened foot into the pre-enlightenment past with C4 documentary It Was Alright in the 70s; and finds a gem on BBC Scotland, the mockumentary Scot Squad <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/video/2014/nov/25/ripper-street-im-a-celebrity-alright-70s-scot-squad-tv-review-video">Continue reading...</a>I'm a Celebrity ...CultureTelevisionTue, 25 Nov 2014 10:00:00 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/video/2014/nov/25/ripper-street-im-a-celebrity-alright-70s-scot-squad-tv-review-videoPresented by Andrew Collins2014-11-25T10:00:00ZThe Fall, Babylon, The Newsroom, Blue Bloods: TV review – videohttp://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/video/2014/nov/18/fall-babylon-newsroom-blue-bloods-tv-review-video
This week telly addict Andrew Collins approaches the return of BBC2's creepy serial-killer thriller The Fall with more caution than the blonde on the train; is glad to see Bain and Armstrong's cop comedy drama Babylon settle in on C4 after an indulgent pilot; finds the long-running CBS police soap Blue Bloods the same as it ever was on Sky Atlantic; and, on the same channel, salutes the verbose confidence of Aaron Sorkin's The Newsroom from HBO, back for its final run<br /><br /><strong>WARNING: CONTAINS STRONG LANGUAGE</strong> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/video/2014/nov/18/fall-babylon-newsroom-blue-bloods-tv-review-video">Continue reading...</a>CultureTelevisionTue, 18 Nov 2014 10:00:00 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/video/2014/nov/18/fall-babylon-newsroom-blue-bloods-tv-review-videoPresented by Andrew Collins2014-11-18T10:00:00ZBoardwalk Empire, Toast of London, Peaky Blinders, Detectorists: TV review – videohttp://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/video/2014/nov/11/boardwalk-empire-toast-london-peaky-blinders-detectorists-video-review
This week, telly addict Andrew Collins bids a fond farewell to three great series, and welcomes back another: Brummie crime saga Peaky Blinders on BBC2 and gentle, humane comedy Detectorists on BBC4 both ended with announcements that they'd be returning for another series; HBO's prohibition epic Boardwalk Empire reached its series finale in fine style on Sky Atlantic; Matt Berry's Toast Of London returned to C4 for a glorious second series; and there was an advert with a penguin in it<br /><br /><strong>WARNING: STRONG LANGUAGE</strong> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/video/2014/nov/11/boardwalk-empire-toast-london-peaky-blinders-detectorists-video-review">Continue reading...</a>Boardwalk EmpirePeaky BlindersTelevisionTue, 11 Nov 2014 10:00:00 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/video/2014/nov/11/boardwalk-empire-toast-london-peaky-blinders-detectorists-video-reviewPresented by Andrew Collins2014-11-11T10:00:00ZThe Missing, Intruders, Scrotal Recall and more: TV review — videohttp://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/video/2014/nov/04/missing-scrotal-recall-intruders-life-is-toff-house-of-lies-tv-review-video
Telly addict Andrew Collins talks BBC1's The Missing, US/UK co-production Intruders on BBC2, BBC3's docuseries Life Is Toff, C4's Scrotal Recall and comedy drama House of Lies<br /><br /><strong>WARNING: STRONG LANGUAGE</strong> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/video/2014/nov/04/missing-scrotal-recall-intruders-life-is-toff-house-of-lies-tv-review-video">Continue reading...</a>TelevisionTelevision & radioDramaComedyDocumentaryTue, 04 Nov 2014 10:01:00 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/video/2014/nov/04/missing-scrotal-recall-intruders-life-is-toff-house-of-lies-tv-review-videoPresented by Andrew Collins2014-11-04T10:01:00ZWeird Loners: perfectly passable comedy that doesn't have the lol-factorhttp://www.theguardian.com/culture/tvandradioblog/2015/mar/31/weird-loners-perfectly-passable-comedy-lol-factor
<p>Fox’s new Queens-based comedy is nice enough but it falls short of doing anything other than being middle-of-the-road fare</p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/culture/tvandradioblog/2015/mar/31/weird-loners-perfectly-passable-comedy-lol-factor">Continue reading...</a>CultureTelevisionTelevision & radioTue, 31 Mar 2015 18:58:53 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/culture/tvandradioblog/2015/mar/31/weird-loners-perfectly-passable-comedy-lol-factorBrian Moylan2015-03-31T18:58:53ZGoing Clear and Killing Jesus show controversy is cable TV's secret weaponhttp://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/tvandradioblog/2015/mar/29/going-clear-hbo-killing-jesus-natgeo-controversy
<p>As Scientology documentary on HBO and dramatisation of Jesus’s death on NatGeo compete for the same Sunday night time slot, what will viewers choose?</p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/tvandradioblog/2015/mar/29/going-clear-hbo-killing-jesus-natgeo-controversy">Continue reading...</a>ScientologyAlex GibneyHBOMediaTelevision industryReligionFox NewsSun, 29 Mar 2015 14:47:53 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/tvandradioblog/2015/mar/29/going-clear-hbo-killing-jesus-natgeo-controversyBrian Moylan2015-03-29T14:47:53ZHollywood 'race casting': what the industry is getting wrong about diversityhttp://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/tvandradioblog/2015/mar/25/deadlines-race-casting-article-tvs-diversity-wrong
<p>An article in trade publication Deadline argued that white actors were now at a disadvantage compared to ethnic minority peers. That’s complete nonsense </p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/tvandradioblog/2015/mar/25/deadlines-race-casting-article-tvs-diversity-wrong">Continue reading...</a>US televisionCultureTelevisionTelevision & radioWed, 25 Mar 2015 20:12:53 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/tvandradioblog/2015/mar/25/deadlines-race-casting-article-tvs-diversity-wrongBritt Julious2015-03-25T20:12:53ZGirls season four – when Lena Dunham's show came of agehttp://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/tvandradioblog/2015/mar/24/girls-season-four-when-lena-dunhams-show-came-of-age
<p>Girls has always known who its characters are – but it’s only as they have grown up and faced the realities of adulthood that they have truly come into their own</p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/tvandradioblog/2015/mar/24/girls-season-four-when-lena-dunhams-show-came-of-age">Continue reading...</a>GirlsUS televisionDramaTelevisionCultureTelevision & radioTue, 24 Mar 2015 12:07:50 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/tvandradioblog/2015/mar/24/girls-season-four-when-lena-dunhams-show-came-of-ageJack Seale2015-03-24T12:07:50ZJames Corden's Late, Late Show: winning debut with room for improvementhttp://www.theguardian.com/culture/tvandradioblog/2015/mar/24/james-cordens-late-late-show-debut-witty-inspired-and-horrendously-charming
<p>Though unknown in America, Corden tore down talkshow conventions and performed admirably, especially in a retrospective of Tom Hanks’s career</p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/culture/tvandradioblog/2015/mar/24/james-cordens-late-late-show-debut-witty-inspired-and-horrendously-charming">Continue reading...</a>James CordenCBSCultureMediaTelevisionTelevision & radioTelevision industryUS television industryTue, 24 Mar 2015 07:37:34 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/culture/tvandradioblog/2015/mar/24/james-cordens-late-late-show-debut-witty-inspired-and-horrendously-charmingBrian Moylan2015-03-24T07:37:34ZFrom Queer as Folk to Scott and Bailey: the best TV from the north-westhttp://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/tvandradioblog/2015/mar/23/ordinary-lies-queer-as-folk-scott-bailey-best-tv-north-west-england
<p>Danny Brocklehurst’s new drama Ordinary Lies is set in Manchester. Can it compete with these seven brilliant shows, whose north-western settings are integral to their success?</p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/tvandradioblog/2015/mar/23/ordinary-lies-queer-as-folk-scott-bailey-best-tv-north-west-england">Continue reading...</a>DramaTelevision & radioTelevisionCultureMon, 23 Mar 2015 12:40:47 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/tvandradioblog/2015/mar/23/ordinary-lies-queer-as-folk-scott-bailey-best-tv-north-west-englandGabriel Tate2015-03-23T12:40:47ZMargaret Atwood on Game of Thrones: ‘Real people, every murderous one’http://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2015/mar/22/margaret-atwood-on-game-of-thrones-season-five
<p>With the fifth season of Game of Thrones beginning next month, acclaimed novelist Margaret Atwood explains why she finds the show – inspired by literature and the real monarchs of our blood-soaked medieval history – so compelling, while five other famous fans share their devotion to Westeros</p><p>Once sucked in, you stay sucked. Be warned.</p><p>On one side of the artefact/audience interchange, avid faces will be squashed up against the screen; on the other side, avid faces will simply be squashed, and then cut off, attached to other people’s heads, sewn on to wolves, painted with tar, or stuck on spikes. As the Immortal Name, Robert Burns, has it: “Clap in his walie nieve a blade, He’ll make it whissle; An legs an arms, an heads will sned, Like taps o thrissle.”</p><p> <span>Related: </span><a href="http://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2015/feb/28/game-of-thrones-fifth-season">New generation of British actors gets its chance to shine in Game of Thrones</a> </p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2015/mar/22/margaret-atwood-on-game-of-thrones-season-five">Continue reading...</a>Game of ThronesTelevisionGeorge RR MartinMargaret AtwoodRichard IIITelevision & radioBooksFantasyCultureSun, 22 Mar 2015 07:00:06 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2015/mar/22/margaret-atwood-on-game-of-thrones-season-fiveMargaret Atwood2015-03-22T07:00:06ZOutlander: ‘Game Of Thrones helped open the door for us’http://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2015/mar/21/ronald-d-moore-outlander
<p>Ronald D Moore gave us a taste of the future with Star Trek and Battlestar Galactica. Now he’s heading to the past with his new time-travelling Highland romance that’s big on sex and swordplay<br></p><p>If the wet, wild landscape of 18th-century Scotland feels like an unexpected pivot from the man who rebooted <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/culture/battlestar-galactica">space opera Battlestar Galactica</a>, Ronald D Moore sees things a little differently. “I like doing period pieces,” says Outlander’s affable showrunner. “It’s just that some of them happen to be set in the future.” The decision to swap Cylons for claymores appears to have worked out. When it <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/tvandradioblog/2014/aug/13/starz-outlander-which-uk-channel">debuted in the US on Starz</a> last summer, Outlander – based on a series of bestselling novels – became one of the most successful shows in the cable network’s history; its dense, detailed mash-up of sex, swordplay and vengeful sassenachs winning impressive ratings and admiring reviews. Now, after an unusually long deferment in this age of simulcasts, Moore’s self-confessed “love letter to Scotland” is going to take a belated bow in the country where it was actually filmed.</p><p>Tartan trumps any sci-fi trappings in Outlander, but there is a whiff of the fantastical in the plot. Claire Randall (Irish actor Caitriona Balfe) is a second world war nurse who, after an encounter with some mysterious standing stones near Inverness, finds herself inexplicably transported back to 1743. With the stirrings of the Jacobite rebellion, the 18th-century Highlands are a dangerous place to be a wandering Englishwoman. Although married to the loyal Frank (Tobias Menzies) in the 1940s, in 1743 she finds herself drawn to Jamie (Sam Heughan), a strapping Scot who is all muck and muscle. This time-slipped love triangle threatens to become a quadrilateral when Claire is relentlessly pursued by her husband’s brutal ancestor “Black Jack” Randall (Menzies, again).</p><p>There’s a misconception that women were much weaker in those times</p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2015/mar/21/ronald-d-moore-outlander">Continue reading...</a>DramaFantasyScience fictionTelevisionTelevision & radioCultureBattlestar GalacticaStar TrekGame of ThronesBooksUS televisionSat, 21 Mar 2015 09:00:07 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2015/mar/21/ronald-d-moore-outlanderGraeme Virtue2015-03-21T09:00:07ZGoodbye Glee – why I'll miss this subversive high-school showhttp://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/tvandradioblog/2015/mar/20/goodbye-glee-why-ill-miss-this-subversive-high-school-show
<p>Ryan Murphy’s musical sitcom about misfits finding their way through song was a sensation – for its first season. But for fans the magic continued long after that</p><p>When Ryan Murphy’s surrealist musical sitcom about a high school choir first arrived on screen, it burned brightly but also quickly. It launched amid hysteria, attracting a mixture of huge acclaim and massive ratings that only occurs a few times in a generation. Yet it fell from TV’s prom queen to Sandra Dee remarkably quickly, as storytelling was pushed aside for musical theme weeks. After the show reaches its conclusion on US screens this weekend, few will mourn its passing.</p><p>But many, myself included, will miss it. This tale of misfits feeling their way into adulthood via the medium of popular song had me at “hello”. And the clues to Glee’s quiet subversion were there from the off; Ohio’s William McKinley High sharing its name with schools in The Wonder Years and <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2010/dec/31/box-set-freaks-and-geeks">Freaks and Geeks</a> – two of US TV’s other great documents of teen angst. </p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/tvandradioblog/2015/mar/20/goodbye-glee-why-ill-miss-this-subversive-high-school-show">Continue reading...</a>GleeTelevisionTelevision & radioUS televisionFri, 20 Mar 2015 12:53:06 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/tvandradioblog/2015/mar/20/goodbye-glee-why-ill-miss-this-subversive-high-school-showDaniel Martin2015-03-20T12:53:06ZBloodline: is the new Netflix family drama worth watching?http://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/tvandradioblog/2015/mar/20/bloodline-is-the-new-netflix-family-drama-worth-watching
<p>Sissy Spacek and Ben Mendelsohn star in Netflix’s latest release. But after an excellent first episode, it’s unclear if the rest of the season will measure up</p><p>This is a particularly good time to be a Netflix subscriber. Between <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/series/house-of-cards-episode-recaps">House of Cards</a>, <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/series/better-call-saul-episode-by-episode">Better Call Saul</a>, <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/tvandradioblog/2015/mar/10/unbreakable-kimmy-schmidt-tina-fey-triumphs-again">The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt</a> and the US remake of The Returned, Netflix is currently responsible for some of the best television we have.</p><p>And now it’s got <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2014/oct/23/netflix-teases-new-sissy-spacek-sam-shepard-drama-bloodline-clip">Bloodline</a>. A Netflix exclusive about a well-to-do family in the Florida Keys that premieres on Friday, Bloodline already has US critics frothing at the gills. It’s tense, they say. It’s compelling. You’ll be on the edge of your seat. From these early notices alone, Bloodline sounds like the sort of show that warrants a cleared weekend in and a job-lot of Pringles.</p><p> <span>Related: </span><a href="http://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/tvandradioblog/2015/mar/10/unbreakable-kimmy-schmidt-tina-fey-triumphs-again">Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt: Tina Fey triumphs again</a> </p><p> <span>Related: </span><a href="http://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/tvandradioblog/2015/mar/12/has-better-call-saul-lived-up-to-expectations">Has Better Call Saul lived up to expectations?</a> </p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/tvandradioblog/2015/mar/20/bloodline-is-the-new-netflix-family-drama-worth-watching">Continue reading...</a>BloodlineNetflixUS televisionTelevisionDramaCultureTelevision & radioFri, 20 Mar 2015 09:41:38 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/tvandradioblog/2015/mar/20/bloodline-is-the-new-netflix-family-drama-worth-watchingStuart Heritage2015-03-20T09:41:38ZWhy Sweden's dancing gnomes have a lot to teach Britain about Eurovisionhttp://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/tvandradioblog/2015/mar/17/why-swedens-dancing-gnomes-have-a-lot-to-teach-britain-about-eurovision
<p>A Eurovision fan from Stockholm on how her country selected its distinctly quirky 2015 entry – and why viewers there treat the competition with the seriousness it deserves<br></p><p>On Saturday, I took part in the most Swedish of traditions: I sat down with my friends in Stockholm to watch the final of Melodifestivalen, our Eurovision entry selection process, which was won by M&aring;ns Zelmerl&ouml;w with Heroes.<strong><br /></strong></p><p>Swedish viewers have spent six weeks being introduced to competitors from across the country, so I wasn’t the only one keen to see who we would pick as our representative. Melodifestivalen has been Sweden’s most popular TV show for the past 15 years, and as a nation we take great pride in our <a href="http://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2013/10/why-is-sweden-so-good-at-pop-music/280945/">booming music export</a>; Eurovision being no exception to that rule. We may not do so well in men’s football or rugby but <a href="http://www.eurosport.com/cross-country-skiing/kalla-delivers-sweden-s-first-gold-of-2015-world-championships_sto4615458/story.shtml">skiing</a> and singing? That we can do.</p><p> <span>Related: </span><a href="http://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2015/mar/16/sweden-falls-in-love-with-the-man-who-signs-for-eurovision-heats">Sweden falls in love with the man who signs for Eurovision heats</a> </p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/tvandradioblog/2015/mar/17/why-swedens-dancing-gnomes-have-a-lot-to-teach-britain-about-eurovision">Continue reading...</a>Eurovision 2015EurovisionTelevisionCultureTelevision & radioMusicSwedenEuropeWorld newsPop and rockTue, 17 Mar 2015 10:34:31 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/tvandradioblog/2015/mar/17/why-swedens-dancing-gnomes-have-a-lot-to-teach-britain-about-eurovisionBella Qvist2015-03-17T10:34:31ZHas Better Call Saul lived up to expectations?http://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/tvandradioblog/2015/mar/12/has-better-call-saul-lived-up-to-expectations
<p>Halfway through the first series, we have time to take stock – is this a great show in its own right, or do you have to be a fully signed-up Breaking Bad fan to appreciate it?</p><p><em>Spoiler warning: this blog refers to season one, episodes one to six.</em></p><p>We’re just past the halfway mark in Better Call Saul’s first season, a good point to check in with the ongoing adventures of Jimmy McGill, the fast-talking lawyer who will one day be advising Walter White on the best way to launder his meth-dollars. </p><p> <span>Related: </span><a href="http://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2015/feb/21/better-call-saul-amc-spin-off-breaking-bad">Better Call Saul: how to enjoy AMC's spin-off without watching Breaking Bad</a> </p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/tvandradioblog/2015/mar/12/has-better-call-saul-lived-up-to-expectations">Continue reading...</a>Better Call SaulTelevisionCultureTelevision & radioBreaking BadThu, 12 Mar 2015 14:59:47 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/tvandradioblog/2015/mar/12/has-better-call-saul-lived-up-to-expectationsRichard Vine2015-03-12T14:59:47ZFortitude: Ben Frost knows the score when it comes to making TV sound coolhttp://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2015/mar/17/ben-frost-fortitude-score
<p>With Sky’s arctic drama, the electronic producer is the latest leftfield musician to score a TV show. He explains how he overcame his reservations</p><p>Telly’s current “golden age” isn’t just restricted to actors, screenwriters and directors. Leftfield musicians are now increasingly entering the fray. It appears that if you have an edgily cool TV show, you’ll be wanting an edgily cool soundtrack to set it off.</p><p>The last few years have seen a rash of genuinely exciting creative types scoring quality TV. Mogwai doubtless relished haunting the buggery out of viewers of French zombie-ish drama Les Revenants. Cristobal Tapia de Veer provided dub-flecked electronica for Dennis Kelly’s conspiracy drama Utopia, while Underworld’s Rick Smith made bursts of techno for Sam Bain and Jesse Armstrong’s Babylon. Captain Beefheart drummer-turned -composer Cliff Martinez also created something arresting – and thoroughly anachronistic – for The Knick, Steven Soderbergh’s medical period drama, which sits John Carpenter synths next to 1900s surgical butchery.</p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2015/mar/17/ben-frost-fortitude-score">Continue reading...</a>TelevisionCultureMusicFortitudeTelevision & radioTue, 17 Mar 2015 09:00:17 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2015/mar/17/ben-frost-fortitude-scoreBen Arnold2015-03-17T09:00:17ZPompidou: why the critics are wrong about Matt Lucas's comedyhttp://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/tvandradioblog/2015/mar/16/pompidou-why-the-critics-are-wrong-about-matt-lucass-comedy
<p>Disappointing audiences and a critical bashing have made Pompidou look like a failure. But this difficult, admirable experiment deserves better<br></p><p>Little Britain star Matt Lucas has returned – with a big gamble that for many critics <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/tvandradio/tv-and-radio-reviews/11440831/Pompidou-episode-1-review-painful.html">has not paid off</a>. But that’s to miss the point. In Pompidou, he plays Pompidou P Pompidou, a brassic aristo who lives in a filthy caravan with his butler, Hove (Alex MacQueen, against type), and a bookish, bespectacled Afghan hound. Every week they try to get food or money and fail, in a world where nobody speaks intelligible English; instead, humans gabble and rhubarb gibberish. It’s a comedy pointedly unlike any other currently on TV.</p><p>Because it doesn’t have lines, Pompidou is immediately comparable to Mr Bean, Laurel &amp; Hardy and Jacques Tati, yet the show’s funniest moments highlight Pompidou’s uniqueness. Taking away verbal sense but retaining sound means Lucas’s huge gift for comic inflection and facial expression is delivered in pure form; a kind of non-silent mime. He is brilliant at conveying indignation, inebriation, anger and disappointment in a way that would be diluted by dialogue. Remember those bravura Vicky Pollard monologues? This is the instrumental version: nothing but rhythm and tone.</p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/tvandradioblog/2015/mar/16/pompidou-why-the-critics-are-wrong-about-matt-lucass-comedy">Continue reading...</a>ComedyComedyCultureTelevisionTelevision & radioMon, 16 Mar 2015 12:05:26 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/tvandradioblog/2015/mar/16/pompidou-why-the-critics-are-wrong-about-matt-lucass-comedyJack Seale2015-03-16T12:05:26ZLike programmes that take their time? Then you'll welcome BBC4's Slow TVhttp://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2015/mar/04/like-programmes-that-take-their-time-then-youll-welcome-bbc4s-slow-tv
<p>It started in Norway with 3.2 million viewers watching shows such as an 18-hour documentary about salmon fishing. Can the BBC transfer that success to British screens?</p><p>After years of hearing that blipverts, videogames and social media have dwindled our attention span to the heartbeat, it is encouraging to hear of something that credits us with the ability to sustain a thought longer than an instant. BBC4 has announced its <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/mediacentre/latestnews/2015/bbc-four-goes-slow">BBC Four Goes Slow</a> series, which takes the pace of modern TV and pumps the brakes until it is practically stationary. The series features a three-hour National Gallery tour, a two-hour canal journey and short episodes showcasing traditional craftsmanship. Welcome to Slow TV. Make yourself comfortable – this may take a while.</p><p>Blowing in from the frozen north, <a href="http://www.nrk.no/presse/slow-tv-1.12057032">the concept of slow TV originates in Norway</a>. Producer Thomas Hellum, from Norway’s state broadcaster NRK, is a pioneer of the form. With documentaries including a seven-hour train ride, 18 hours of salmon fishing and 134 hours on a cruise ship, it’s safe to say that if you found <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/film/2015/jan/29/inherent-vice-review-paul-thomas-anderson">Inherent Vice </a>flagged a bit towards the end, Hellum’s oeuvre probably isn’t for you.</p><p> <span>Related: </span><a href="http://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/tvandradioblog/2013/oct/04/slow-tv-norwegian-movement-nrk">Slow TV: the Norwegian movement with universal appeal</a> </p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2015/mar/04/like-programmes-that-take-their-time-then-youll-welcome-bbc4s-slow-tv">Continue reading...</a>TelevisionCultureTelevision & radioDocumentaryFactual TVDramaWed, 04 Mar 2015 15:37:08 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2015/mar/04/like-programmes-that-take-their-time-then-youll-welcome-bbc4s-slow-tvJames Donaghy2015-03-04T15:37:08ZBroadchurch writer Chris Chibnall: 'I stand by the drama's court scenes'http://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2015/mar/04/broadchurch-writer-chris-chibnall-i-stand-by-the-dramas-court-scenes
<p>The story of our second series was devised after months of research and legal advice. All writers compress complex procedures, and we were as keen to show the emotional fallout of the trial as the intricacies of the court system</p><ul><li><a href="http://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2015/mar/04/broadchurch-writer-hits-back-critics-series-two">Broadchurch writer hits back at critics of series two</a></li><li><a href="http://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/tvandradioblog/2015/mar/04/broadchurch-second-season-proceed-with-caution-america">Should Americans watch Broadchurch’s second season?</a></li></ul><p>This series of Broadchurch, just like the first, garnered plenty of media coverage and opinions. After the early storms (Mumblegate! Music-too-loud-gate! Ratings-wobble-gate!), the hunt was on for a new angle. I made a deliberate decision not to comment during transmission, and all the above were rightly refuted by other commentators. But now the series has finished, there’s one issue I do want to address: Legalgate!</p><p>There’s been plenty of discussion over the accuracy of our portrayal of the trial process. Some argued our court story would never happen. Our research and advisors suggested otherwise. Let me explain our process.</p><p> <span>Related: </span><a href="http://www.theguardian.com/media/mediamonkeyblog/2015/jan/14/broadchurch-disaster-lawyers-itv">Broadchurch courts disaster, say lawyers | Media Monkey</a> </p><p> <span>Related: </span><a href="http://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2015/jan/19/broadchurch-script-errors-dont-really-matter">In defence of Broadchurch: drama should come before fact</a> </p><p> <span>Related: </span><a href="http://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2015/feb/23/broadchurch-recap-season-two-finale-episode-eight">Broadchurch recap: season two finale – episode eight</a> </p><p> <span>Related: </span><a href="http://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/tvandradioblog/2015/feb/24/broadchurch-3-and-other-shows-that-outstayed-their-welcome">Broadchurch 3 – and other shows that outstayed their welcome</a> </p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2015/mar/04/broadchurch-writer-chris-chibnall-i-stand-by-the-dramas-court-scenes">Continue reading...</a>BroadchurchDramaTelevisionCultureTelevision & radioCrime dramaITV channelLawWed, 04 Mar 2015 10:38:52 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2015/mar/04/broadchurch-writer-chris-chibnall-i-stand-by-the-dramas-court-scenesChris Chibnall2015-03-04T10:38:52ZBanished: Jimmy McGovern pulls a blinder with new penal colony sagahttp://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2015/mar/05/banished-jimmy-mcgovern-filipa-jodelka
<p>‘This is not gentle, BBC-safe period drama. If you’re expecting monocles splashing into teacups, you’re in the wrong place’</p><p>“Our problem is too many convicts, not enough food,” says evil Major Ross. “One or two of them dying can only help.” By the look of Banished <em>(Thursday, 9pm, BBC2)</em>, Australia, 1778, was not a place you’d want to be. This drama, written and devised by Jimmy McGovern, is set in a penal colony stuck between the vast Australian bush and the vast Australian ocean, and follows the arrival of the first fleet of convicts transported from Britain and Ireland. With thanks to my good friend 3am Wikipedia rabbit warren, this came about because at the time, every flipping thing conceivable was illegal, prisons were overcrowded, and it was seeming a bit much to hang people for nicking a few bits of Georgian tat.</p><p> <span>Related: </span><a href="http://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2015/mar/01/russell-tovey-looking-banished-interview">Russell Tovey: ‘I was a scared, skinny little rat. Then I hit the gym…’</a> </p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2015/mar/05/banished-jimmy-mcgovern-filipa-jodelka">Continue reading...</a>DramaTelevisionTelevision & radioCultureThu, 05 Mar 2015 09:00:02 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2015/mar/05/banished-jimmy-mcgovern-filipa-jodelkaFilipa Jodelka2015-03-05T09:00:02ZRussell Tovey: ‘I was a scared, skinny little rat. Then I hit the gym…’http://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2015/mar/01/russell-tovey-looking-banished-interview
It took the Essex actor a decade to fully regain his confidence after falling victim to a knife attack at 18. And a decade, too, to be comfortable portraying his own sexuality on stage and screen. Now the former History Boy is going from strength to strength<p>It’s freezing in London, three-layer weather, but Russell Tovey is wearing only a T-shirt. So what, I say, steering the 33-year-old inside a warm-looking cafe, you don’t feel the cold these days? Now that you’re…</p><p>Now that the actor is broader, musclier, or to use a phrase that was popular in his native Essex when he was growing up, a <em>unit</em>. If you’ve kept a mental picture of Russell Tovey from his early-career days as one of the National’s original History Boys, or from his later screen stuff, in <em>Him &amp; Her</em> and <em>Sherlock</em> – well, take that mental picture and stretch it. Photoshop-enlarge the neck. In <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jdjTsAw_m38"><em>Banished</em></a>, a new BBC drama that starts this week, Tovey plays a gnarly, red-cheeked outdoorsman called James Freeman, one of the first British convicts to be deported to Australia. The type of role, Tovey reckons, “I never would have got before. When I was a skinny little rat.” </p><p>I used to be insanely envious of Dominic Cooper. I always wanted to play his part in The History Boys</p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2015/mar/01/russell-tovey-looking-banished-interview">Continue reading...</a>Russell ToveyTelevisionFilmTheatreCultureSun, 01 Mar 2015 08:00:09 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2015/mar/01/russell-tovey-looking-banished-interviewTom Lamont2015-03-01T08:00:09ZLisa Kudrow on Friends, Phoebe and why women in Hollywood should demand morehttp://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2015/feb/22/lisa-kudrow-friends-phoebe-women-hollywod-demand-more
<p>With her mock-reality TV show The Comeback getting rave reviews, the former Friends star reflects on privacy, plastic surgery and the role that made her famous</p><p>It’s a boutique Italian restaurant in west Hollywood where glossy people with perfect tans sit around softly lit tables, murmuring movie talk. Everybody clocks who comes and goes, a discreet, I’m-not-looking eye-swivel. Lisa Kudrow walks in and gets double-swivel. No one says anything but you don’t need a Geiger counter to sense ambience adjustment. Celebrity in the house.</p><p>Kudrow appears oblivious. She sits down and smiles. I ask if she registers the furtive glances cast her way during public outings. She shakes her head. “No, no. I shut that off for ever ago. It was one of the first things I shut off when Friends took off.”</p><p> <span>Related: </span><a href="http://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2014/oct/23/the-comeback-lisa-kudrow-return-hbo-reality-celebrity">The Comeback comes back: Lisa Kudrow's prescient show returns to TV</a> </p><p> <span>Related: </span><a href="http://www.theguardian.com/film/2015/feb/22/patricia-arquette-oscars-speech-equal-pay-women">Patricia Arquette uses Oscars speech to call for equal pay for women</a> </p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2015/feb/22/lisa-kudrow-friends-phoebe-women-hollywod-demand-more">Continue reading...</a>Lisa KudrowFriendsCelebrityJennifer AnistonCultureFilmMatt LeBlancLife and styleSun, 22 Feb 2015 18:00:04 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2015/feb/22/lisa-kudrow-friends-phoebe-women-hollywod-demand-moreRory Carroll2015-02-22T18:00:04ZLine of Duty's Lennie James: ‘I was 12 when I was first called the n-word – by a policeman’http://www.theguardian.com/culture/2015/feb/23/lennie-james-critical-line-of-duty
<p>He got his big break as a bent cop in Line of Duty. As he prepares to play a surgeon in ‘real-time’ drama Critical, Lennie James talks about Ukip, Terry Wogan, being stopped by the police – and his new life in Los Angeles</p><p>‘I’m not into medical dramas,” says Lennie James, relaxing in an old-fashioned Covent Garden drawing room where we’re meeting to talk about, well, his brand new medical drama. “<a href="http://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2011/oct/06/your-next-box-set-er">ER</a>,” he says, “had about 10 episodes where you’d go, ‘Do you remember that ER when ...’” But, in the main, he finds them boring.</p><p>Me too, I want to say, but it seems a bit off, given that he has just spent almost a year away from home, to play smouldering Dr Glen Boyle, the trauma consultant star of Sky 1’s new series Critical. Plus, as James points out, this show is far from standard: it plays out in real time. Which is to say that its creator <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/media/2014/feb/09/line-of-duty-jed-mercurio">Jed Mercurio</a> (the former doctor who was Bafta-nominated for <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NaKn9-9uWHc">Line of Duty</a>) has constructed 13 episodes where the cast have one hour to save one life. “If a procedure takes 12 minutes, we would take 12 minutes to shoot it,” says James. “If a drug takes 30 seconds to take effect, we would wait that 30 seconds.”</p><p> <span>Related: </span><a href="http://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/tvandradioblog/2015/feb/23/medical-drama-flatlining-can-be-revived">Can Jed Mercurio's Critical revive the medical drama?</a> </p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/culture/2015/feb/23/lennie-james-critical-line-of-duty">Continue reading...</a>Lennie JamesTelevisionCultureTelevision & radioDramaCrime dramaRace issuesWorld newsSocietyLine of DutyMon, 23 Feb 2015 18:12:15 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/culture/2015/feb/23/lennie-james-critical-line-of-dutyNosheen Iqbal2015-02-23T18:12:15ZBroadchurch 3 – and other shows that outstayed their welcomehttp://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/tvandradioblog/2015/feb/24/broadchurch-3-and-other-shows-that-outstayed-their-welcome
<p>The ITV crime drama will be back for a third series – despite many viewers feeling that the second one wasn’t a patch on the first. It’s not the first drama that possibly should have bowed out earlier …</p><p>On Monday, <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2015/feb/23/broadchurch-recap-season-two-finale-episode-eight">Broadchurch ended with a big fat full stop</a>. Villains were found and dealt with. Broken relationships began to heal. Miller found peace. Hardy, all his wrongs now righted, could finally depart the town for a new location where it might actually rain for once.</p><p> It wasn’t perfect, but it felt satisfying. And then the ITV announcer decided to spoil it all by revealing that everything would be undone by a third season.</p><p> <span>Related: </span><a href="http://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2015/feb/24/broadchurch-third-series-david-tennant-olivia-colman">Broadchurch to return for third series with David Tennant and Olivia Colman</a> </p><p> <span>Related: </span><a href="http://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2015/feb/23/broadchurch-recap-season-two-finale-episode-eight">Broadchurch recap: season two finale – episode eight</a> </p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/tvandradioblog/2015/feb/24/broadchurch-3-and-other-shows-that-outstayed-their-welcome">Continue reading...</a>BroadchurchCrime dramaDramaThe Killing24HomelandThe FallTelevisionCultureTelevision & radioUS televisionTue, 24 Feb 2015 10:38:33 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/tvandradioblog/2015/feb/24/broadchurch-3-and-other-shows-that-outstayed-their-welcomeStuart Heritage2015-02-24T10:38:33ZNancy Banks-Smith on The Archers: David’s U-turnhttp://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2015/feb/25/a-month-in-ambridge
David’s decided not to flog the family farm after all. Cue a procession of angry relatives who won’t be cashing in<p>It’s all right. You can come out now. With a U-turn so spectacular it was positively political, David Archer changed his mind about selling the family farm for a mess of pottage. Seven million quid was, I believe, mentioned.</p><p>The move to Northumberland (Awa’ the Archers!) was all set, then David started sighing. Sighs that come up from your big toe and, after hammering ineffectually at your teeth for admission, sink back defeated. At first, he was simply wistful about nesting robins and gathering lilac in the spring, but then he started hearing his dead father’s voice and talking to a cow. “Oh Etty, Etty! You always held your service!” This is the sort of remark that suggests no obvious reply and, indeed, Etty said nothing, but I suspect it had nothing to do with ladies’ tennis.</p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2015/feb/25/a-month-in-ambridge">Continue reading...</a>Radio dramaRadioRadio 4CultureWed, 25 Feb 2015 07:00:05 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2015/feb/25/a-month-in-ambridgeNancy Banks-Smith2015-02-25T07:00:05ZBetter Call Saul: how to enjoy AMC's spin-off without watching Breaking Badhttp://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2015/feb/21/better-call-saul-amc-spin-off-breaking-bad
<p>The prequel has plenty to offer even those who haven’t watched Breaking Bad’s five seasons. A quick catch-up on all things Jimmy McGill</p><p>Pretty much the first thing we learn about Saul Goodman (Bob Odenkirk) – one of the more colourful characters on Breaking Bad – is that his real name isn’t Saul Goodman. At some point in his past, he changed it from Jimmy McGill, because he thought that the petty hoods he defends would rather have a Jew defending them in court than an Irish dude (his new moniker is meant to sound like “It’s all good, man”).</p><p>How did that name change happen, and just how did Saul end up as the most well-known ambulance chaser working out of a tacky office in a strip mall in Albuquerque? Well, that’s what we’ll find out on Better Call Saul, AMC’s new Breaking Bad spin-off about Jimmy McGill’s early career. What’s great about this setup is that you don’t really need to have seen all five seasons of Breaking Bad to enjoy Better Call Saul. Having said that, all five seasons are streaming on Netflix, so if you don’t want to hear, “Oh my God, you haven’t watched Breaking Bad?” from one more well-intentioned acquaintance at a cocktail party, now is the time to get caught up.</p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2015/feb/21/better-call-saul-amc-spin-off-breaking-bad">Continue reading...</a>US televisionBetter Call SaulBreaking BadCultureTelevisionSat, 21 Feb 2015 14:00:08 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2015/feb/21/better-call-saul-amc-spin-off-breaking-badBrian Moylan2015-02-21T14:00:08ZGame of Thrones exhibition gives fans a taste of Westeros ahead of season fivehttp://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2015/feb/09/game-of-thrones-exhibition-virtual-reality-season-five
<p>Virtual reality show at London’s O2 arena makes Seven Kingdoms come alive with an iron throne, interactive installations and props from the TV hit</p><p>Shooting to the top of the 700ft wall in the winch, snow swirling against your face, the bleak arctic landscape of the uncharted north stretches into the distance. Teetering on the edge, arrow after arrow of fire is suddenly loosed from below. Two whistle past your ears, but the third hits you square in the face, plunging you into the icy depths below. </p><p>For countless Game of Thrones fans, being able to experience the lands of Westeros through their own eyes has seemed as unlikely as all the principal characters making it through a series unscathed. But a virtual reality installation at London’s O2 arena – part of an exhibition of clothing, weaponry and other props from the show – is making the Seven Kingdoms come alive. For 60 seconds per person at least.</p><p>In high fantasy, female characters leave a lot to be desired … characters like Ygritte are interesting and diverse</p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2015/feb/09/game-of-thrones-exhibition-virtual-reality-season-five">Continue reading...</a>Game of ThronesCultureTelevisionTelevision & radioMon, 09 Feb 2015 16:14:44 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2015/feb/09/game-of-thrones-exhibition-virtual-reality-season-fiveHannah Ellis-Petersen2015-02-09T16:14:44ZThe Royals: guaranteed to be the trashiest thing on TVhttp://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/tvandradioblog/2015/jan/21/the-royals-trashiest-tv-liz-hurley-joan-collins
<p>Liz Hurley plays the Queen! Joan Collins plays the Queen Mum! What’s not to love about the E!’s new drama about a British royal family?</p><p>Amid all its troubled antiheroes and fatalistic gunplay, the golden age of television has been desperately short of one thing: trash. Not your common or garden, lowest common denominator, mass market, light entertainment crap – switch on your TV after 5pm on any given Saturday and you’ll practically drown in the stuff – but knowing, high-drama, campy trash. Trash such as Footballers’ Wives and Desperate Housewives.</p><p> We’ve come close – Scandal is clearly preposterous but takes itself slightly too seriously, and House of Cards perpetually seems seconds away from turning into a full-scale Frankie Howerd parody of itself – but it has always been hard to shake the feeling that most modern showrunners have been too busy eyeing up prestige to fully commit to trash.</p><p><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/TheRoyals?src=hash">#TheRoyals</a> are bored and horny. FML. <a href="https://t.co/zuC1j2XatH">https://t.co/zuC1j2XatH</a></p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/tvandradioblog/2015/jan/21/the-royals-trashiest-tv-liz-hurley-joan-collins">Continue reading...</a>DramaTelevisionTelevision & radioCultureMonarchyJoan CollinsThe RoyalsWed, 21 Jan 2015 13:52:03 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/tvandradioblog/2015/jan/21/the-royals-trashiest-tv-liz-hurley-joan-collinsStuart Heritage2015-01-21T13:52:03ZThe new Cortana advert: watch Clean Bandit’s career die before your eyeshttp://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2015/mar/28/clean-bandit-terrible-cortana-advert
<p>‘“What are <em>you</em> wearing, Cortana?” he asks, like he’s in a shit version of the film Her’. Cortana replies: “A phone. Like it?”</p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2015/mar/28/clean-bandit-terrible-cortana-advert">Continue reading...</a>AdvertisingTelevisionTelevision industryTelevision & radioMediaCultureClean BanditMusicSat, 28 Mar 2015 09:00:00 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2015/mar/28/clean-bandit-terrible-cortana-advertDavid Renshaw2015-03-28T09:00:00ZBack in Time for Dinner review – the Robshaw family signs up for 1950s bread and drippinghttp://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2015/mar/18/back-in-time-for-dinner-tv-review-1950s-kitchen
It’s not original, but it’s still fun because the Robshaw family are television naturals <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2015/mar/18/back-in-time-for-dinner-tv-review-1950s-kitchen">Continue reading...</a>TelevisionTelevision & radioCultureWed, 18 Mar 2015 07:00:26 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2015/mar/18/back-in-time-for-dinner-tv-review-1950s-kitchenSam Wollaston2015-03-18T07:00:26ZTeens: the private lives of the Twitter generation laid barehttp://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2015/mar/24/teens-channel-four-documentary
<p>Watch Channel 4’s new documentary and you too can learn the secrets of these elusive creatures (warning: secrets may be disappointingly familiar)</p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2015/mar/24/teens-channel-four-documentary">Continue reading...</a>TelevisionTelevision & radioCultureDocumentaryFactual TVTue, 24 Mar 2015 09:00:04 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2015/mar/24/teens-channel-four-documentaryFilipa Jodelka2015-03-24T09:00:04Z